The world is once again in the grip of fear of Covid-19 infection. The fear is that the surge in the infection in China could unleash a new coronavirus mutant on the world. However it is pertinent to note that the surge in the number of infections in China did not take place overnight. The question that arises is why was the panic button pressed by the World Health Organization (WHO) only after the month-long FIFA World Cup ended? Many Chinese football enthusiasts would have travelled to Qatar to witness the World Cup matches. There were no travel restrictions in place. There is every possibility of infection being spread to others in the jam-packed football stadiums in Qatar. Why was the spread of the new mutant of the virus in China not announced earlier? Why were the testing and travel restrictions not in place during the World Cup? Was the fact suppressed in order not to jeopardize the FIFA World Cup? The fear is that the new variant could have by now spread to other countries.
