Africa: Covid-19 - We're No Better Prepared for a Pandemic Today Than We Were in 2020

COVID ushered in a new era

It’s been five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, triggering lockdowns, restricted travel, and limits on public gatherings, along with disrupted work and school.

5 years on, true counts of COVID-19 deaths remain elusive − and research is hobbled by lack of data

National COVID-19 memorial wall for the five-year anniversary on March 11, 2025, in London, England. Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures via Getty ImagesIn the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers struggled to grasp the rate of the virus’s spread and the number of related deaths. While hospitals tracked cases and deaths within their walls, the broader picture of mortality across communities remained frustratingly incomplete. Policymakers an…

COVID anniversary finds a fractured nation less prepared for future outbreaks

It’s been five years since the world came to a sudden halt. Outbreaks of a deadly coronavirus — first in China, then in Italy and Iran, and then seemingly everywhere at once — prompted the World Health Organization to declare the virus a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, bringing the full scope of danger into clear view.

Africa: Covid-19 - We're No Better Prepared for a Pandemic Today Than We Were in 2020

Analysis - On March 11 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. According to official data there have been more than 770 million cases of COVID, which have caused over 7 million deaths in 231 countries - almost 2.2 million of them in Europe. Other reports estimate that the number of deaths globally was much higher, perhaps even more than double.

5 years ago, Poland introduced a state of epidemic due to COVID-19. A ban on gatherings of more than two people and restrictions on movement were in force throughout the country.

What Does the 5th Year Anniversary of COVID-19 Mean to You?

Let's process our trauma, grief, and healing from COVID-19.