INTRODUCTORY REMARK
Coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was
first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of
China's Hubei province, and has
since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. Common symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Other symptoms may include
fatigue, muscle
pain, diarrhea, sore
throat, loss
of smell and
abdominal pain. While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some
progress to viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure. As of 6 April 2020, more than
1,280,000 cases of have been reported in more than 200 countries and
territories, resulting in more than 70,500 deaths. More than 270,000 people
have recovered.
THE 5G NETWORK
5G is a new kind of network: a platform
for innovations that will not only enhances today’s mobile broadband services,
but will also expand mobile networks to support a vast diversity of devices and
services and connect new industries with improved performance, efficiency, and
cost. 5G will redefine a broad range of industries with connected services from
retail to education, transportation to entertainment, and everything in
between. We see 5G as technology as transformative as the automobile and
electricity.
In general, 5G use cases can be broadly
categorized into three main types of connected services:
- Enhanced
Mobile Broadband: 5G will not only make our smartphones better,
but it will also usher in new immersive experiences, such as VR and AR,
with faster, more uniform data rates, lower latency, and cost-per-bit.
- Mission-Critical
communications: 5G will enable new services that can transform industries
with ultra-reliable/available, low latency links—such as remote control of
critical infrastructure, vehicles, and medical procedures.
- Massive Internet of Things: 5G will seamlessly connect a massive number of embedded sensors in virtually everything through the ability to scale down in data rates, power and mobility to provide extremely lean/low-cost solutions.
The spectrum used
for mobile communications is becoming congested. Current networks cannot always
meet consumer demands for data. During periods of heavy use, consumers may
experience slow speeds, unstable connections, delays, or loss of service. The
effects can range from annoyances like a streaming movie freezing to
life-threatening transmission delays between first responders in an emergency.
The demand for
data will continue to grow as the number of devices connected to the internet
grows. The number of smartphone users in the United States has increased from nearly 63 million in 2010 to an estimated 238
million in 2018. In 2018 there were 17.8 billion connected devices globally, 7 billion
of which were connected devices such as smart home equipment. By 2025 the total
number of connected devices is projected to exceed 34 billion.
Industries and
consumers will rely on 5G networks to power the devices and transmit the data
that drive their daily activities. They will need networks that can provide
constant connections, minimal lag times, increased bandwidth to access and
share data, and the ability to quickly compile and compute data.
In the health care
sector, 5G could enable services such as remote patient monitoring,
consultation, and even remote surgery. In transportation, 5G will be the
backbone that autonomous vehicles rely on. A 2017 study from Deloitte estimated, “self-driving cars enabled by wireless
connectivity could reduce emissions by 40-90%, travel times by nearly 40% and
delays by 20%.” Before every pandemic of the last 150 years, there was a
quantum leap in the electrification of the Earth.
THE CONSPIRACY
THEORY
While a conspiracy theory might be taken to mean any explanation of
an event or situation involving a conspiracy, in popular usage (as opposed to technical legal usage)
the term carries the pejorative connotation that the appeal to a conspiracy
is implausible and based on prejudice or insufficient
evidence. Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are reinforced by circular
reasoning: both evidence against the
conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of
its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than
something that can be proved or disproved.
Research suggests that conspiracist ideation belief in conspiracy theories can be
psychologically harmful or pathological and that it is highly correlated
with psychological projection, paranoia and Machiavellianism.
In the thesis statement of a YouTube video with the
innocuous title “Dr. Thomas Cowan, M.D. Discusses the Coronavirus.” The 10-minute video features a man lecturing
in front of a whiteboard. It looks like any other low-budget conference video,
but that thesis—that pandemics are linked to the “electrification” of the
Earth—got certain people’s attention. The video, which was posted March 18, has
now been watched more than 660,000 times and has inspired a rather curious,
rather dangerous conspiracy theory
that the New 5G mobile networks are causing the spread of COVID-19.
5G mobile networks promise faster transmission
speeds and lower latency. They’ve been the centrepiece of commercials from various mobile
carriers, and they have become a
battleground for technological dominance between the United States and China.
In 2019, the Trump administration announced their plan for “winning the race” for 5G, and tech
sources bemoaned that the United States had fallen behind China in 5G development. Some of the first 5G networks were activated in
2019, and that newness is how 5G somehow got linked to COVID-19 in some
people’s minds. But while the circumstances of this specific conspiracy are
unique, the links between mobile networks and disease are a prime example of
how history repeats itself. Almost every new wireless infrastructure gets
linked to disease in one form or another.
A
REPROACH TO THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
I
disagree on the claims that there is a link between the 5G network, Coronavirus
and anti-Christ.
For
the past few days, popular pastors and politicians have found a way to link the
5G network with spiritual things and Coronavirus epidemic.
Recall that Oyakhilome told his members in a sermon
that the 5G was part of the new world order where some figures of authority in the world
were trying to build a religion, economy and government for the entire
universe.
Quoting
Revelation Chapter 13, he said there is no need for a vaccine, adding that
these are part of the Antichrist’s plan for a new world order.
However,
Ashimolowo countered Oyakilome’s statement, explaining that there was no
correlation between 5G and end-time signs.
He
warned Christians not to join Christian leaders in promoting conspiracy
theories.
According
to him, all those claims were conspiracy theories that had nothing to do with
the anti-Christ.
He
maintained that COVID-19 was a pandemic and must be dealt with as such.
“If
coronavirus is caused by 5G, why is it in his village that does not have a 5G?
“It
has always been the nature of Christian leaders to plant fear in their members
whenever there was going to be a major world occurrence.
The
church should be more concerned about preparing their members for the Second
Coming of the Lord instead of condemning a major technological breakthrough.
It’s
fake news to associate 5G to coronavirus.
COVID-19
AND ISOLATION: Leprosy as a case study
Leprosy
was the scourge of the ancient world. Nothing evoked more fear, more dread, or
more revulsion than the sight of these walking dead. That is what a leper was
called, a walking dead man. The smell of his decaying flesh would announce his
coming long before the tattered scraps of his clothing would be seen, or his
raspy "Unclean! Unclean!" announcement he was required to declare,
could be heard. The stumbling shuffle of toeless feet, the wandering of
sightless eyes and the moan of a cheek less mouth, all pointed to Leprosy, this
unseen attacker that slowly destroyed human bodies, and made the individual an
untouchable to society.
Leprosy is a vivid and graphic physical picture of
the spiritual defilement of sin. Sin is ugly, loathsome, incurable, and
contaminating; it separates men from God and makes them outcasts. The
instructions given to the priests in Leviticus
13 help us understand the nature of sin: Sin is
inside us, deeper than the skin (Leviticus
13:3); sin also spreads (Leviticus
13:8); sin always defiles.
EVALUATION
AND CONCLUTION
I
urge each and every one of us to discard this concept and idea of always
reconciling societal issues, necessary human conditions and experience with
Religion. The Christianity we practice today should display an exemplary with
the teachings of Christ and religious leaders should focus on the preparation of
their members to embrace the second coming of our Lord Christ rather than
promoting fake propaganda.
I
keep on asking the world this question; The Christianity we practice today is it
the same Christianity that the followers of Christ practiced and they were
called Christ-like people in Antioch of Pisidia? Why do we always link
everything to religion! Few years back Ebola was a pandemic disease that faced
some part of the world, Africa precisely but through God’s intervention it came
to pass. During the time of Christ, Leprosy disease was also a threat to
humanity but when the untouchable is touched by Jesus (cf. Leviticus
13:42), "Immediately the
leprosy left him and he was cured." ‘‘They were tempted to put their security
in their own possessions and in their political alliances with other nations rather
than in God. Hosea called his people to return to God to receive pardon,
healing, and restoration. God does not abandon us; God goes with us, even now
in this time of trial and testing. In this moment, it is important for us to
anchor our hearts in the hope that we have in Jesus Christ and reconcile with
God seeking for forgiveness of sins. Now is the time to intensify our prayers
and sacrifices for the love of God and the love of our neighbour.
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| Contact Brendan Amadi |
