Essay Example on Latest Update on Covid-19 Pandemic: What You Need to Know

The Covid-19 pandemic has been the most covered event in the past two weeks. All types of mass media such as newspapers, radios, and televisions have been actively involved in covering the events as they unfold from all parts of the world. Every day, from morning to evening, the news about the pandemic exhausts the ears of listeners on radios and televisions. The coverage about the number of new cases, recoveries, and deaths within the past 24 hours are the most common reporting messages. Apart from that, the ongoing sensitization campaign has also become rampant (McKibbin et al. 13). The reporting and coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic have changed the identity of its patients negatively through words, pictures, and music. The following are some of the notable instances in which the Covid-19 reporting and coverage by mass media have negatively affected its patients.

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The identity of patients included in reporting and coverage of Covid-19 has changed dramatically through the use of words or catchphrases that inflict fear among the people. The stunning part of it is that, when one has traveled from a country reporting Covid-19, they are supposed to be under self-quarantine for at least 14 days because they are suspects of potentially infecting other people. The phrase Covid-19 patients, as reported in the news, is disturbing because of the impacts of Covid-19 in society. Some people believe that once someone contracts the disease, the result is death. Therefore, all other phrases used in association with the Covid-19 are equally fearsome. The following are some of the catchphrases that are mostly used during mass media reports and coverage. Every time mass media houses report on Covid-19, the phrase “new cases” refers to the total number of those who test positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours (McKibbin et al. 15). The phrase “new deaths” shows the number of people who died of Covid-19 within the past 24 hours. Community transmission is the spread of Covid-19 within a particular geographic area with no history of patients having traveled elsewhere.

Contact tracing refers to the process through which the government identifies, assesses, and manages people suspected to have been directly exposed to Covid-19 infection. Coronavirus is a virus that has been scientifically identified to cause Covid-19. Self-quarantine is a phrase that means staying away from the rest of the people after being exposed to Covid-19 infection. Social distancing refers to the strict measures that the government advises to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 from one person to another. Social distancing measures include closing schools and offices, working from home, avoiding public transportation, and canceling events. Such measures are supposed to prevent direct transmission of Covid-19 disease. However, the mass media have been responsible for fear and depression of people due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Several television and radio stations across the world have consistently made Covid-19 news their priority. Therefore, people are constantly exposed to fearsome news of the disease, making them fearful and depressed. Suppose the mass media treated Covid-19 disease just as any other diseases around, the people would not tense very much, and depression would have been at its minimum. The intensified news about the Covid-19 disease has wreaked havoc as people feel insecure, unsafe, and depressed. Therefore, the frequency, methods, and the way mass media reports about the Covid-19 disease are responsible for the overwhelming fear and depression of people around the world.

Apart from words and catchphrases, the mass media have been saturated with Covid-19-based pictures that continue to inflict fear among people in society. Most television stations show the coronavirus picture every time they present news to the people. The coronavirus picture is normally shown every time the sensitization advertisements are made about the Covid-19 disease. The picture has been in existence. However, the way the mass media presently shows it is stunning. Today, everyone is aware of the physical appearance of coronavirus, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease.

Pictures of coronavirus can be found almost everywhere, from posters, magazines, newspapers, television advertisements, to news reports (Devaux et al. 8). The way it is shown is fearsome. Some television stations show a coronavirus picture as a big terrible thing in a way that inflicts fear among the viewers – no one may wish to have such a terrible thing in their bodies. Therefore, the mass media have played a key role in causing fear and depression among the people. Apart from that, many television stations and newspaper articles also show pictures of coronavirus death victims being buried under heightened precautionary measures. The events happening when one dies of Covid-19 are extremely fearsome (Wenham et al. 11). The mass media presentations of those events cause depression, especially for those who have contracted the Covid-19 disease and members of their family. The pictorial coverage of Covid-19 is highly demoralizing and full of panic and fear. The fear makes people desperately cautious and shaken.

The reporting and coverage of Covid-19 disease is also done through music. Several music artists have produced songs about the Covid-19 pandemic. The songs seek to create awareness about the disease and ask people to take the necessary pre-cautions provided by governments to help curb the infection. Songs about Covid-19 are in different genres. Some people have composed poems, spoken words, and many other forms of musical presentations to provide sensitization about the Covid-19 disease (Devaux et al. 21). The stunning part of it is the way mass media use these songs as part of a campaign against the spread of Covid-19. Many media houses play these songs after presenting news reports and advertisements about Covid-19 making the disease the talk of the town. It is very frustrating to hear about Covid-19 and its fearsome impacts in the news and television programs all day long. People do not have sufficient opportunity to watch the programs they loved to watch before the issue of Covid-19 arose. All that dominate mass media involve things related to Covid-19.

The outcome of the intensive media reports and coverage on Covid-19 are numerous. First, it has brought fear and depression among people. The people who have been infected with the deadly coronavirus are more susceptible to depression following the aggressive reports on the danger of Covid-19 and the terrible way the mass media have shown dead bodies being buried. Members of the family for patients have also been stricken with a great fear of the unknown situation that might follow (Devaux et al. 14). The continuous reports of Covid-19 cases in the media leave the affected people breathless because everything seems dull and hopeless. They are set for any condition that may arise, whether life or death. The fear is mostly intensified with the measures that restrict people from visiting and spending time with the Covid-19 patients in fear of being infected. The society is, thus, in panic and great stress. Another notable outcome of intensive mass media coverage and reports on Covid-19 is the stigma and discrimination from members of the community to patients recovering from Covid-19. Despite the fast transmission of Covid-19 disease, many people are recovering from it and are discharged from medical facilities where they were getting treatment (Kraemer et al. 5). However, the media coverage of the Covid-19 makes members of the communities afraid of associating themselves with recovering Covid-19 patients in fear of being infected with it (Guo et al. 12). As a result, members of the community alienate those who recover from Covid-19 and avoid them at all costs. The behavior of avoiding recovered patients must have been fueled by intensive media coverage and reports on Covid-19 disease. Suppose mass media reported the pandemic in a normal way without giving it too much attention, the stigma and discrimination would not have happened. Therefore, this outcome is directly attributable to negative media coverage and reporting on Covid-19. Furthermore, the outcome of intensified media coverage and reports on Covid-19 has led to the separation between members of the community. People do not mingle with each other as before. Everyone in the community is observing the social distancing directive from the Ministry of Health as a means of eradicating the spread of Covid-19 disease.

The coverage and reports on Covid-19 have led to changes in the identity of various people. The Ministry of Health offcilas are directly involved in giving frequent updates on Covid-19 have been nicknamed “Covid-men” because they are associated with Covid-19 disease updates. Apart from that, the identity of patients who have been infected with Covid-19 has also changed. People no longer consider Covid-19 patients as they do for those suffering from other infections (Guo et al. 21). Patients of Covid-19 are marked as very dangerous because they have a great potential of infecting many other people, including healthcare providers.

The nation has also changed dramatically. People of the same nation have been separated from each other through lockdown of target cities marked as hotspots for Covid-19 infections. Some countries have been locked down while others are under curfews. The normal interactions between leaders and the people have changed significantly (Chinazzi et al. 32). People are afraid of each other since it is difficult to judge who has coronavirus or who has not. It is a very challenging period when people do not know what to do. There is no approved vaccine for Covid-19. The only approach to deal with the disease is by taking precautionary measures to curb its spread.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the media coverage and reporting on Covid-19 has tremendously affected society in numerous ways. It has provoked fear and depression among people and caused social and economic disturbances such as the closing of schools and offices, avoiding crowded events, avoiding public transportation, and observing social distancing directives. The identity of patients and officials from the Ministry of Health has changed drastically. Patients of Covid-19 are regarded as infectious and dangerous, leading to acute stigma and discrimination of recovered patients. On the other hand, officials from the Ministry of Health who are directly involved in reporting Covid-19 updates have been nicknamed “the Covid-men” because they are linked with Covid-19 disease updates. The way mass media covers events on Covid-19 has sparked untold fear and depression among the people. Countrymen have been torn apart by lockdowns and curfews aimed at controlling the spread of Covid-19 disease.

Works Cited

Chinazzi, Matteo, et al. “The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.” Science 368.6489 (2020): 395-400. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6489/395.abstract

Devaux, Christian A., et al. “New insights on the antiviral effects of chloroquine against coronavirus: what to expect for COVID-19?.” International journal of antimicrobial agents (2020): 105938. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924857920300881

Guo, Tao, et al. “Cardiovascular implications of fatal outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).” JAMA cardiology, (2020). https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abstract/2763845

Kraemer, Moritz UG, et al. “The effect of human mobility and control measures on the COVID-19 epidemic in China.” Science 368.6490 (2020): 493-497. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6490/493.abstract