LIKE CORONA VIRUS LIKE FEAR

Following the global trend in the past few weeks one needs to be really scared and careful.

The world is shutting down. Humans are indoors. There’s food shortages with little or no money in circulation among the have-nots of most countries.

The media is doing a great job at updating us with breaking news almost on per-second basis.

Audio clips, voice notes, pictures and videos are making the rounds on social media platforms, both warning, informing, advising and updating those receiving such messages on the situation at hand.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the single biggest piece of news globally.

Religion is shut down and with places of worship. Education seems to have failed. Science is confused. Governments are defeated and everyone has run into their matchbox houses, gnawing in fear while expecting to hear the breaking news that will end this nightmare.

We are all glued to our various means of information receivers like the spectators listening to a football commentator waiting to hear "it’s a goal!!!"

We want to hear “breaking news, the cure for corona virus has been found!

Me too. I want to hear this more than anything.

If for nothing, so that our gallant doctors, Nurses and health workers can return to their families and loved ones and I can also give and receive hugs and handshakes without being scared...

So I could sit in a meeting again with my co-workers, bosses and colleagues as nations of the world crawl out again like a snail out of its shell after it met an obstacle.

While we all wait for that single piece of good news, we should make every effort to stay alive.

It is okay to stay indoors, isolate and maintain the over emphasized "social distancing". It’s very important to wash your hands like a thousand times a day, and use hand sanitizers and nose mask as often as possible.

But above all, it is even more important you fear not!

Not because there is nothing to be afraid of but, remember it is possible to escape Coronavirus, and not get infected but still die out of fear of the unknown.

Fear is a killer. Fear torments. Fear is a web that destroys.

On the social media today, people are busy spreading fear in the name of sharing information.

As at the time of writing this article, it is on records that 837,027 people have been infected. 41,245 deaths recorded, 30,964 are in critical conditions and virologists have warned that it could get messier in the following weeks.

Geez! Am scared to my bones!

But wait a minute. There are some good news they didn't tell you. Yes, 174,523 have recovered and discharged while 590,289 are in mild condition. Meaning that their cases are not critical, they have higher chances of survival and would be possibly discharged soon.

Coming down to Nigeria, of the 139 confirmed cases, 9 have been cured and discharged. There are also a handful of inspiring stories shared by survivors of COVID-19. But, most times, what we read online is the fear-fueled news shared by the media.

It is true that if we saved one, we can save all. If we won before, we can win again.

The world has conquered many plagues in time past ranging from the Antonine plague of 165AD to the bubonic plague of 1346-1353, then cholera, Flu pandemic, HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola and now Corona virus.

As we triumphed over the previous outbreaks, we will triumph over Covid-19.

To our government I say be strong.
To our medical teams, bravo!
To our philanthropists, well done.
To the infected, fight on, don’t give up.
To the dead, rest in peace.
To the living, fear not. Don’t die. Have some faith and hold steady.

About the effect of COVID-19 on Higher education.

Are admissions of international students going to be cancelled?

NO! Not at all. If you’ve applied to universities already and have heard back with acceptance letters, you do NOT have to worry that your admissions will somehow be cancelled. You need to understand, universities need you just as much as you need them. If they start cancelling admissions of international students, their student numbers will fall drastically and so will their revenue. They don’t want that.

IF by some terrible chance the virus is still wreaking havoc at the time that your classes are supposed to commence, universities will either ask you to move to online classrooms OR they will ask you to defer your admissions to the next semester.

This doesn’t mean you won’t get your student visa - you will. But it means you might have to complete a few courses online until you can join them on campus OR you might have to wait a little longer to commence your course.

The admission cycle and/or funding process will not be affected by the pandemic. At worst, the decisions might be delayed. But as soon as life can go back to normal (and it will), decisions will start being sent out again and universities will resume operation, the same as before.

Stay safe obviously - but don’t let this pandemic change your plans long-term. This is a temporary disruption.

Source : Effect of COVID on Higher education