The first time the Coronavirus alert came up, it was just given that name, “Coronavirus”. The only reference made to Wuhan was that it was first reported there. Days later, some people started referring to it as “Wuhan Virus”. But obviously that didn’t go down with the Chinese authority so that name died down shortly after it emerged. Or rather, it went into dormancy, waiting for the right time to resurrect. But all these were before the large exportation of this disease from its main domain.

As the death toll of this deadly ailment rises to above 1000, WHO decided to give it another name that will prevent its connection to any geographic location, animal or individual, as well as to differentiate the virus from other strands. For that, they gave it the name – COVID-19. This name is going to help to prevent any form of stigmatisation on any individual, race, animal or country. The WHO decision goes in line with what the organisation stated in 2015, where they declared that diseases should not be named according to their originating locations in order to avoid stigmatisation.

However, this change of name did not stop the spread of the disease, nor reduce its death rate. This means that the more people contracted this disease, the angrier they become. Truth is that people started asking questions concerning the origination of this disease and learnt that it came, one way or the other, through contact with wild animals. This seemed to anger them the more because they started accusing the Chinese of contracting the disease through their queer diets; in fact everyone was blaming China for COVID-19.

Just some days ago, Donald Trump, the United States President, made a public speech, where he referred to COVID-19 as “Chinese Virus”. This brought uproar from many people, who saw his comments and reference as prejudicial. They called him a racist and accused him of stigmatising the Chinese. Despite the uproar, Trump unapologetically used that term (Chinese Virus) severally in his Twitter posts within that day. He later said that he had to use the term so as to remind everyone of where the killer-disease came from since the Chinese government was already circulating false information, claiming that the virus was brought to Wuhan by the US military. So it looks like China threw the first stone without remembering how fragile its glass house was.

But Trump wasn’t the only one reminding the Chinese that they were to blame for COVID-19. A peep into Wikipedia on the discrimination of the Orients as a result of COVID-19 will show you that different parts of the world have been discriminating against these people since January. From the statistics Wikipedia gathered from several reports, the Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and even the Indian citizens face stigmatisation and xenophobic attacks in several countries of the world. Some Chinese businesses, especially restaurants, in these countries have shut down because of lower patronage. Some schools were reported to have evicted Asian students, even those that have not visited China for some years. There was the case of an Asian that collapsed in front of a restaurant and died of suspected cardiac arrest because none of the people standing by wanted to perform a CPR on him since they were afraid he might be infected with coronavirus.

So today, anyone with Orient features is at risk of being blamed by people for COVID-19, most especially as it is believed that they didn’t warn the world before the virus started spreading.

But then, these ugly monsters known as stigmatisation, discrimination and xenophobia are not only reserved for the Asians. Anyone that coughs, sneezes or clears his throat receives immediate queer look and distancing from the people around him. Just recently, a young man was beaten to death in Kenya because they suspected him of having the virus. This is to show how deep this illness has damaged the peace and tranquillity in our societies.

It will be hard to stop the natural reactions people have towards this disease because, as my people say, only a tree will hear that it will be killed the next day and still maintain its position. The fear caused by COVID-19 is affecting more than the economy; it’s affecting our social lives too. No one can socialise in peace these days. People are uncomfortable staying in the midst of others. So it is just natural for people to want to distance themselves from those suspected of being infected by the virus.

However, blaming and attacking people are way out of line. Yes, it is in human nature to be angry; but acting out of anger is what needs to be discouraged.

Branding COVID-19 as “Wuhan Virus” or as “Chinese Virus” should be discouraged too, because it will not end well. But then, the Chinese government should also stop their blame game because it will only increase aggravation against their people. Where the COVID-19 originated from shouldn’t be the concern of the leaders today, but how to curb it.

NB: Since WHO has declared that names of diseases should not refer to geographic location, individual or animal of origin, why do we still have “Lassa Fever” and “Ebola”? How come WHO has not given them other names just as it did COVID-19?

 Imagine you are fired from your job. That means your source of livelihood has come to an end. Imagine you don’t have demand from the market anymore. That means you will record no sales either personally or as a business.

 That is exactly what the Coronavirus pandemic is turning the world into. I analyzed the worth of the COVID -19 cure to be $4.3trn in this article.

 But when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers much pain. That is true for the small businesses. As we know that small businesses are the backbone of most economies.

It is small businesses that grow into unicorn and from unicorn into publicly traded companies. How will these small businesses grow at this time? Think about this for a while.

 The Impacts of COVID-19 on Small Businesses

The pain started in a small way, it has grown to become a very big pain to small businesses.

The covid-19 can be contracted through respiratory droplets. This has led to closure of businesses and other physical gathering centers. Here are some of the impacts to small businesses;

•   Close Down of Businesses.

In some countries where the pandemic had spread widely, businesses have been closed down. Workers are no longer allowed to come to work instead they work remotely. The goal is to prevent physical contact between people. What this means is a decline in the revenue of the business due to cancellation of orders. A decline in productivity in such businesses.

•  Lack of Credit Facilities

The blood of small businesses is finance. When there is no finance for the business to keep up operations that will be the death of the business. This moment when business activities are reduced, that means no bank will like to give credit facilities to businesses. This is such a grave problem!

•   Fixed Cost Remain Fixed.

At this moment when all business variables need to decline, some are still fixed. Business cost items like rent, salaries, insurance etc will still remain fixed. The question is this; how will the business owners pay these bills? A time when there is no cash flow. A time when there is no revenue.

 What can we do at this critical point in the history of the world? The destiny of humanity rests on the shoulders of world leaders, you and I included. Here are the solutions that great people and organizations are already providing;

 What World Leaders Should do to Help Small Businesses.

 In my article on the global worth of Coronavirus, I made a call to entrepreneurs, philanthropists, donors agencies and organizations that we could together deal with this pandemic.

 Here are some of the solutions so far;

•   The Facebook Solution:

Facebook has taken a lead in initiating measures that will help small businesses tackle the challenges they are facing at this critical stage.

 Few days ago Sheryl Sandberg posted on her page on Facebook that Facebook has come up with an initiative to help small businesses.  The initiative is to provide a grant of $100m in cash and advert to support small businesses. This will go a long way in solving the financial problems of the small businesses at this moment.

• The Jack Ma Solution.

Jack Ma has also come up with a great initiative in order to contain the spread of this pandemic in African countries. Jack Ma is donating masks,test kits and protective suits to all countries in Africa to help the continent in its fight against the COVID-19.

 This approach is helping to curb the spread of the viruses in developing countries. This will impact small business operations too as the spread of the virus is still small compared to other countries.

• The Progress Ibrahim Solution.

In periods of crises what we need is solutions and not complaints. So, in my own capacity I have decided to use the power of copy writing to influence great leaders, donor organizations, philanthropists and entrepreneurs to rise and support in whatever way so we could collectively tackle this pandemic.

 This approach could lead to donations of materials, provision of grants to support businesses and other help.

•  Suggested Government Solution.

I must commend the government of many nations that are already being proactive about the containment of this pandemic. This is what I suggest every government should do through its Reserve Banks or Central Banks. Government should earmark special funds to support small businesses in their countries. This will help such businesses to stay alive at this period.

 We know how important these businesses are to unemployment reduction in every economy. If your government knows, then come up with this bailout measure to help them stay alive.

On an individual level what are you doing to help in the containment of COVID-19? Firstly, ensure you adhere to precautionary measures like hand washing with sanitisers, social distancing etc. Contribute whatever you can do to support humanity in time like this.

It is no longer news that the Covid19 is now in Lagos. Building on the backdrop of medical advice on this case, it is said to transmit through contact with the droplet and touching it on the face. As a result, the fear of surface touch increases.

According to Richard Gray on BBC, droplets between 1-5 micrometers in size – about 30 times small than the width of a human hair – can remain airborne for several hours in still air. It means that the virus circulating in unfiltered air conditioning systems will only persist for a couple of hours at the most, especially as aerosol droplets tend to settle on surfaces faster in disturbed air. But the NIH study found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus survives for longer on cardboard – up to 24 hours – and up to 2-3 days on plastic and stainless-steel surfaces.

Considering that we are entering the raining season, it is important that the Lagos state government take an extra measure which won’t end at suspending gatherings.

The big question is, when will the government, ask the bus and taxi drivers to start carrying two passengers per seat or at least three. As a way of curbing this virus, won’t it be wise that the government considers the permission of O’Pay, O’Ride, etc for the time being?

More so, the government should be observant enough to know that there is a scarcity of face mask for mouth and nose, and gloves.

The problem is contact and we need to do everything humanly possible to stop that.