Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The use of rapid tests, advances in antiviral treatments and a vaccine against COVID-19 will make society trust the government and airlines again, and vice versa, which is expected to revive migration and mobility, said Demetrios G. Papademetriou, president emeritus of the Migration Policy Institute.
The author of the report "Managing the Pandemic and its Aftermath", indicated that the COVID-19 - which has become the most devastating in a century -, came to change some of the paradigms that existed in terms of migration, borders and economic matters.
He pointed out that global mobility reached zero because of COVID-19; that is, it came to a complete halt after the first phase of the pandemic in March and continued until August and September of this year. More than 70 countries continue to have their borders closed, particularly in European countries.
However, in other parts of the world there was an attempt to reopen borders and, as a result, migration, relocation of refugees, and offering or accepting asylum claims began to flow again as early as October.
"Most countries are doing very badly and the challenges we are facing are how we can reopen the economy, how we can slowly open the borders, how we will regain some kind of mobility while protecting ourselves and our population from the devastating effect of that particular virus," the expert said.
After almost 58 million cases of VOCA-19 in the world and more than 1.376 million deaths, it is imperative that the population be aware that, beyond politics, it is the actions of society that will allow the pandemic to be mastered, borders to be reopened and the economy to be boosted.
During the virtual session "As Global Migration Collapses: How Borders Will Reopen and Economies Restart," conducted by Ethnic Media Services, the specialist noted that, fortunately for the U.S., a new administration will soon take office that will be more direct with citizens about what to do to combat SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease.
Papademetriou explained that, in addition to health measures, it is essential that society pay close attention to the scientific community in order to make informed decisions.
As a reference, he pointed out that Taiwan has been an example of discipline, as its population has shown that, despite the pandemic, it is possible to live with the virus. "It is a different society, they are more disciplined. People have the ability to follow measures and rules.
It is worth noting that Taiwan has a population of 23.57 million people. So far, 611 cases of VIDOC-19 have been detected and, as a result, 7 deaths have been reported, which means a fatality rate of only 1.14 percent.
The doctor in public policy and international relations said that "it is important to understand that we have not taken control of the pandemic; there has been some good news in the last week because of the vaccines that are being developed... the researchers of these vaccines are going to ask for the right to distribute them in an emergency and hopefully that will happen; however, the time between obtaining that license and the time that the population has access to these vaccines is going to be between six and eight months".
Given this climate, he explained that this winter and spring of 2021 will be difficult, especially for all those countries that are seeing an increase in the number of cases and, therefore, in the number of deaths from the virus.
This will not be reduced, he said, "unless we take the kind of widespread measures that will make a difference, such as using the mask and avoiding crowds, including those that go beyond family gatherings," he said.
He timely warned that "Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and various holidays elsewhere, is coming, so we are going to have a resurgence of this virus.
In this regard, he said that if anything has been learned from previous pandemics, it is that more than 50 percent of deaths occur in the second phase of the disease, so more care is needed.
"We have to take care of our family and put into practice what we know can make a difference. It doesn't matter who our political leaders are, what they have done or haven't done. The people who are in charge of the crisis, as well as its recurrence, are us, the people. We are not listening to the experts, we are breaking the rules.
In this regard, he noted that there is an opposing narrative that thinks that "this has to do with freedom, groups of people who say they are tired, weary and angry - because of the emerging measures - and are worried that governments are saying one thing or another, and that has affected them too. It is essential that we move away from that narrative, we must put that nonsense aside. The rules are simple: you have to be careful.
Finally, he pointed out that it is time to thank all migrants, those who, regardless of how they arrived in the country, have been key players in the fight against this pandemic, as they carry out essential work, whether as caregivers, nurses, doctors and day labourers, among many other tasks.
Meanwhile, Vicente Calderon, journalist and editor of Tijuanapress.com, said that President-elect Joe Biden will face a tough task on issues of mobility, migration and economy, as Central American countries, among others, already suffer from the ravages of COVID-19.
This, he said, adds to the increased insecurity in many of these countries, which could lead to an increase in immigrants and refugee claims for the U.S. union, while all these people are waiting at Mexico's northern border to enter the U.S., either legally or undocumented.
In this regard, he indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic was the perfect pretext for President Donald Trump's administration to push its immigration policies to the limit and, as a result, increase the number of agents on the border, as well as more resources for the fence.
