Although the COVID-19 pandemic is primarily a public health crisis, experts are now voicing their concerns that the virus could have a much broader impact on the global economy. The UN's trade and development agency says the slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak could cost the global economy up to two trillion dollars this year. It will certainly impact agriculture as well. Some agriculture experts and entrepreneurs have made some observations that social distancing, reduced social and religious functions, minimizing travel, avoiding crowds, closures, and other protective practices will have impact on markets and prices of food items, dairy products, meat, flowers, and ornamental plants. There is a supply chain slowdown affecting the transportation of fertilizer, fuel, and other production inputs.

VIENNA – Europe is experiencing one of its worst crises since World War II. In response to the COVID- 19 pandemic, its countries should turn to a classic democratic tool for dealing with existential challenges: national unity governments supported by broad parliamentary coalitions.

On Weibo, a Twitter-like platform in China, netizens are criticizing the countries with increasing cases of coronavirus for not following China’s containment strategy. Although Beijing was blamed for its cover-up two months ago, the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in China has fallen dramatically and even zero cases have been reported for many days. People in most parts of China are getting back to their normal life while the rest of the world, including Nepal, is experiencing the opposite trend as the coronavirus spreads. As of now, Nepal has reported six confirmed positive cases. All the infected are the Nepalis who returned from foreign countries: China, France, UAE, and Belgium. To contain the spread of the virus, Nepal has imposed nationwide lockdown (now in its second week). Though China was widely criticized in the beginning, now Chinese efforts in bringing the pandemic under control have been widely appreciated. Can China’s model be replicable for Nepal?

Everyone is talking about coronavirus. It is now a pandemic, with schools closed, and the country under lockdown. People are wearing masks. Now their household has hand sanitizer bottles. On top, you instructed everyone to wash their hands every half hour. Even the phone company set the phone's caller ring back tone to play information related to coronavirus. Under such circumstances, your children have heard about coronavirus.

Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, shared in his recent story for The Washington Post that while the epicenters of COVID 19 will remain Europe and the US for the next few months, it will surely expand to places like Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, and Monrovia. Kathmandu may be added to the list.

LONDON – Capitalism is facing at least three major crises. A pandemic-induced health crisis has rapidly ignited an economic crisis with yet unknown consequences for financial stability, and all of this is playing out against the backdrop of a climate crisis that cannot be addressed by “business as usual.” Until just two months ago, the news media were full of frightening images of overwhelmed firefighters, not overwhelmed health-care providers.

While the discussion on the effects of Covid19 is taking place, stigmatization remains the least debated issue. Stigmatization began along with the outbreak and spread of this virus in China. People started to call it a “Chinese” disease and everything related to China became the subject of scorn. This not only led to increased prejudice against Chinese people but also built the discrimination against people of Asia. People in America and Europe are making racist jokes on Chinese and Asians. Now the larger discrimination and stigmatization have trickled down to our society too.

On January 25, when WHO reported a total of 1,320 confirmed cases globally for disease the outbreak caused by novel Coronavirus (then named 2019-nCoV), with the majority of the cases (1,297 ) reported in China, Nepal with one confirmed case joined nine countries in the global map spotting confirmed cases. By March 23, the global total for the disease known by then with its new name COVID-19 surpassed 300,000 confirmed cases with the loss of over 14000 lives in some 195 countries. Nepal was fortunate to still remain with the same lone case, which was fully recovered.

PARIS – Emotions are not easily contained. They control us much more than we control them. And during a pandemic, the dominant emotion is naturally fear.

At a time when the entire world is shaken by the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, we all need to take necessary precautions against it. A few weeks after the World Health Organization declared COVID19 a global pandemic, more than half a million cases have been detected, the death toll is rising fast and all the countries in the world are suffering.