by Xinhua writer Chen Chen
BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The global COVID-19 caseload breached the one million mark on Friday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
It serves as a stern warning that the fight against this previously unknown pathogen is exceptionally arduous. Countries worldwide should join their hands even more tightly to secure their shared future.
While the epic fight is going on, it is equally essential for all to start taking stock of some lessons humanity should draw from the outbreak.
The first one is that humans have been constantly exposed to unknown threats.
Despite the fact that the humankind's immune system has evolved ever since the birth of the race, viruses and germs, which have also been evolving, can still find their ways to stage attacks.
The humankind needs to stay humble and never drop guard, bearing in mind that there is a fine line between themselves and the nature.
Another lesson is that a deadly virus does not identify its targets by race or religion. Also, wealth or power does not guarantee a health amulet.
The fact that more than 200 countries and regions are hit by the novel coronavirus has clearly illustrated that.
The third lesson is, on a bit of an upbeat note, the human race is not powerless in the face of an outbreak. China has spent months' time in arresting the further spread of the epidemic, manifesting that measures including social distancing can effectively cut off the chain of transmission, and turn the tables.
Also, humans have over the past centuries accumulated rich experience in developing medications and vaccines. At the moment, scientists and researchers around the globe are racing against time to develop vaccines, offering a ray of hope for ultimate victory over COVID-19.
The fourth is that the raging global pandemic has exposed the deep deficiencies in the current global structure to protect public health in an emergency.
In addition, the shortage of medics and insufficiency of medical supplies -- from face masks and gowns to life-support machines -- are also baffling the anti-virus efforts of most of the countries.
Therefore, the global health governance needs to be improved so that governments and international bodies like the World Health Organization can more efficiently coordinate their joint endeavors to issue early warnings, share information and experience, as well as mobilize resources, and more importantly, boost their surge capacity in face of a sudden outbreak.
The final lesson, or more of an enlightenment, is that the pandemic has revealed a crystal clear fact: the fate of all human beings are closely connected.
That is why China proposed to work with all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind years ago.
"The year 2020 will be remembered as a turnaround point in human history," Marcelo Gleiser, theoretical physicist who wins 2019 Templeton Prize laureate, wrote in a recent opinion piece.
"Not just because many will die, but because the COVID-19 pandemic is offering us a chance to reinvent ourselves," he said.
That reinvention may be hard, but the humans should start thinking and acting as one so that they can emerge out of this unprecedented health crisis much stronger and more united.
