Trevor Schultz

GEOG 1400: Human Geography

Geography of Pandemics & COVID-19

Viruses have been around for as long as life itself. We believe this to be true since
viruses can affect all forms of life: bacteria, archaea, eukaryota. This is beneficial since it allows
scientists to potentially trace the origins of viruses through the hosts they infect, and how they
evolve and spread across geographic areas. Viruses and diseases are no strangers to
humanity, we have encountered our fair share over the centuries. Some incredible examples are
the bubonic plague/black death, smallpox, syphilis, cholera, yellow fever, and hemophilia. Most
of these major breakouts/diseases have been curved with adequate vaccines, but some are still
developing and ongoing. Even though vaccines are effective, there are still carriers (individuals
that have the disease, but are asymptomatic and can carry it on genetically) and diseases that
are constantly evolving past pharmaceuticals.

Diseases and pandemics can be spread through a number of ways. A few common
ways are through infected water, particles from sneezing/coughing, and surface bacteria.
Traditionally, in hunter/gatherer societies, humans did not stay in one place long enough to
necessarily be susceptible to plagues and pandemics. However, due to the agricultural
movement and permanent settlements forming in the Middle East, humans began living
side-by-side with livestock which helped perpetuate the creation and spread of diseases. Since
diseases and viruses can mutate, their constant presence is explainable. With our developing
process of understanding science, we can help to lessen the impacts of these diseases for
present and future generations.

From all of the diseases I have listed that have plagued humanity, nothing compares to
the 1918 influenza pandemic or ‘Spanish Flu’ - most notably the ‘mother of all pandemics.’ One
of the reasons this pandemic was highly impactful was because of the mutations that were
present. Most of the surface proteins of the Spanish Flu were unknown to most human immune
systems where people had no natural immunity. Scientists also believe that the first influenza
that your body fights will be the imprint for how your body fights other strains of influenza in the
future. For example, for a person who contracted an H1 strain of influenza first will be least likely
to contract another H1 influenza. However, in the case of the 1918 pandemic, the influenza
strain was an H2. This caused people such as 20-to-40 year olds to become infected when they
were the least at risk.

When such pandemics or global outbreaks occur, scientists implement strategic

measures to prevent the spread of the disease. They incorporate techniques such as variolation
(the purposeful infection of a host to promote immunity), vaccinations developed from cowpox (a
disease belonging to the same family as smallpox), and identifying disease trails by using a ring
technique that prioritizes and vaccinates other hosts in how direct their contact is with infected
person. These techniques, especially the latter, have been used to successfully eradicate
diseases like smallpox from the world and to help fight new frontiers of diseases such as the
HIV crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and similar cases in the modern century.

When discussions outbreaks and where they occur, you need to make crucial
distinctions between the differences in the sizes of diseases. For example, an epidemic is a
sudden, unexpected increase in cases of a disease in a particular region. On the contrary, a
pandemic is a sudden, unexpected worldwide increase in cases of a disease. Next, you need
to understand how they can spread which is most popular through community spread or
asymptomatic transmission. COVID-19 is community spread meaning people who were not in
contact with someone who traveled from hotspots for the disease like China were getting sick
through particles from coughing and sneezing in their communities. This is different compared
to asymptomatic transmission where persons without symptoms infect someone who is not
asymptomatic or ‘naturally immune’ to the strain of disease. Since COVID-19 is community
spread, the promotion of ‘social distancing’ - self isolation and avoidance of typical social circles
in hopes of avoiding infection and transmission - has become incredibly stressed. Social
distancing violates the variolation technique regarding combating pandemics, but with the
unknown long-term effects of COVID-19 and its effects on at-risk groups, social distancing
practices have remained in effect and treated with utmost importance.

By learning and practicing social distancing, we can ‘flatten the curve’ and create a
brighter future for tomorrow. By ‘flattening the curve,’ you are essentially taking precautionary
measures during preliminary stages of public disease transmission in hopes of avoiding the
spread of said disease. The ‘flatten the curve’ figure is compared to transmissions rates if
society continued day-to-day life regardless of a pandemic. Flattening the curve also allows for
the at-risk and immunocompromised groups of society to avoid infection and for society to
realign and recover quickly. This requires individuals to stay home under every circumstance,
self isolate, and only leave the house if essential. Unfortunately, in previous weeks, we have
seen misleading information pumped through media outlets that are viewed and trusted by
millions of people. They have misrepresented COVID-19 and its origins, its ability to infect
massive amounts of people, and its destructive capabilities. Another dangerous aspect of the
COVID-19 pandemic is the social dangers it’s posed to Chinese people and general outlook of
Chinese markets, especially their ‘wet markets.’

Scientists have recently stated that the origins of COVID-19 are from a bat in China and
that it was passed to a pangolin then to a human. This is quite similar to the SARS (severe
acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003, that also spawned from bats in a wet market in
China. It’s common for such deadly diseases to roam within species, but rare for it to make this
journey to humans. However, when animals and humans are in close quarters, these types of
cases tend to rise. Wet markets, which exist in every region of the world, are common places
where humans and animals coexist. In China’s case, most notably, animals are slaughtered for
consumption and packaged on-sight in marketplaces which are unfortunately breeding grounds
 for diseases due to cross-contamination from animal blood, feces, and other bodily fluids.
Chinese markets are also at higher risk of transmitting diseases from animals since they
normally incorporate a wider variety of wildlife compared to wet markets in different regions of
the world. China’s Wildlife Protection Law helped protect these diverse wet markets and allowed
for exotic animals to be used as ‘natural resources’ for human consumption and for both state
and private commercial agendas. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, and in an identical fashion
to the response to SARS, China has once again amended their Wildlife Protection Law to ban
free trade markets of exotic animals in both legal and illegal wet markets. International cries for
the permanent ban of wet markets within China have arrived in spades because of their ability
to freely transmit dangerous diseases between animals and humans.

Another type of disgrace that we have seen towards China is the social stigmas and
racially motivated actions against Chinese people and those with chinese descent. Ignorant and
uneducated individuals are boycotting and attacking chinese people, businesses, and events.
Similar to how the Spanish Flu got its name, COVID-19 has been nicknamed the ‘Chinese Virus’
in many conservative media outlets. Chinese students, faculty members, and educational
leaders are being stigmatized by the coronavirus and its hijacking from the media. Chinese
people are finding themselves being unfairly demonized as victims on an international scale and
Chinese people, in general, are afraid to travel for numerous safety concerns. COVID-19 has
birthed an ugly and new wave for Chinese people in their experiences of combating and
enduring racism.

In the time since COVID-19 has spread from China, many hotspots have sprung up
around the world including Washington State, Italy, New York, Spain, and Iran. It has mainly
spread in the Northern Hemisphere during a time where temperatures were either cold or
temperament, but not too hold - an original idea scientists had regarding the nature of
COVID-19. It has spread in local communities, but most notably in very large cities or epicenters
for human activity. Markets and economies in these cities have halted and have created a dire
global economic struggle. Over 3,200,000 cases have been reported worldwide with roughly
244,000 confirmed deaths. Figures like these will continue to grow amidst a majority of countries
issuing stay-at-home quarantine orders for their citizens and political leaders. As we head
further into 2020, it is important to understand how to navigate and restructure life around a
cripping pandemic.

By continuing to practice conscious social distancing, exceptional personal hygiene, and

sanitary habits, society can help slow the transmission of COVID-19 while we progressively
transition back to normal, day-to-day life. Washing your hands with soap and warm water for
twenty seconds followed by hand sanitizer is recommended. The use of soap is important due
to its ability to remove surface bacteria made from your body, another person, or from a surface
that you encountered. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that
you abstain from touching your eyes, nose, and mouth and to prevent sharing food and drinks
with others. By practicing increased caution and awareness of the coronavirus and other
diseases we normally see annually, we are not only better suited for present endeavors, but for
when pandemics and outbreaks are knocking on our doorstep in the future.