‘Prisoners’ of a disease

WITH the death toll still increasing by the day, the coronavirus has relatively imprisoned more than a billion people from all nations and has created a climate of uncertainty among us as science and medicine experts continue to search for clues and, hopefully, a quick and effective solution to this global scourge.

Governments have imposed strict quarantines and lockdowns and have restricted the movement of people, confining them in their homes and immediate communities. The global reaction to the coronavirus pandemic has turned quarantined people into virtual prisoners who have no choice but to obey the law, lest they risk getting an infection, if not getting arrested for disobeying lawful authority.