To us at Doren Specialist Hospital we join the world to mark National COVID-19 Day falls on March 11 of each year, as this was the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a global pandemic.
The goal of establishing this day is to take a moment to halt, reflect, remember, and gather together as a community to inspire one another to hope for better days ahead.
Nothing speaks more powerfully about the human spirit than resilience — and resilience is what shines through all of the sadness and mind-numbing exhaustion of the COVID-19 pandemic.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL COVID-19 DAY
The inaugural National COVID-19 Day is observed on March 11, 2021. However, Jamie Aten of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute proclaimed the day a special observance in 2020. The Humanitarian Disaster Institute was able to hold this event by collaborating with global organizations such as World Vision and VOMO. The date of March 11 was chosen since that is when WHO designated COVID-19 a global epidemic. It is a bittersweet observance because it attempts to remember those lost to the epidemic while also bringing together those who survived the waves. Furthermore, this day is notable for its humanitarian attitude, which attempts to express appreciation to all volunteers and service providers who assisted those in need while also continuing to support those who are still affected by the pandemic and its aftermath.
The coronaviruses’ common ancestor lived 10,000 years ago, according to preliminary scientific dating. The virus is carried by a variety of bat and bird species that have evolved over tens of millions of years. There is no evidence that the most recent common ancestor of coronaviruses is millions of years older than earlier studies suggested because the virus evolved with the evolution of these specific species.
In terms of human coronaviruses, the first was found in 1965 in the United Kingdom. At the Common Cold Research Unit in Wiltshire, a virus known as B814 was discovered and produced in a small child with a cold, and it was described as being exclusive to the respiratory tract. In 1966, researchers at the University of Chicago made a similar discovery. During the next two years, more strains were cultivated, and a group of these researchers classified these strains as the coronavirus family in a letter to “Nature Magazine” in 1968.
When the SARS outbreak in southern China started at the end of 2002, it was discovered to be a strain of the coronavirus 2003. Different novel strains of coronavirus were isolated and identified at various stages until the year 2012, particularly in individuals suffering from pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus, was discovered in China’s Wuhan District in the year 2020.