On Saturday, March 13, Rwanda confirmed the first case of COVID-19 infection in the country. It was the most unwelcome news, although not unexpected. It came a few days after the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared it a global pandemic and two and a half months  since its outbreak in China in December last year.

During that time it has spread to more countries on every continent. Naturally, there has been a growing sense of unease and anxiety based on past experience with similar pandemics. But there had also been some hope that it could remain localised and not reach us. Even when it spread to Europe and America, there was still hope that Africa might be spared.

The virus became a permanent presence in the news and refused to go away. But it also remained distant. We wished it would remain that way and disappear before it got here.

Then COVID-19 cases began to appear in some African countries on the outer edges of the continent, then in a few more, and finally in the neighbourhood. On Saturday, it was here and all that hope changed. The disease became real and present, not a story of a strange disease, afflicting people thousands of miles away.

In times of such pandemics like the COVID-19, timely intervention is of the essence. This, in turn, depends on the level of preparedness in terms of policies, logistics, public awareness and assurance from the nation’s leadership.

An interconnected world

Luckily in Rwanda, we tick all the above boxes. The response has been timely and decisive. Does it mean we should not be worried? Of course, we will be worried. It is only natural. It means we should not panic but remain level-headed and follow guidelines issued by competent authorities. President Paul Kagame has been specific on this. He has urged Rwandans not to panic.

And there is no reason for alarm. Fear and panic are often fuelled by lack of information or fake news increasingly present in social media. We have plenty of correct information, periodically updated, and openness about the COVID-19, so there shouldn’t be too much worry. Panic can also be fanned by the absence of leadership. About that in this country, we would indicate: non-applicable.

Pandemics such as COVID-19 are terrible things, of course, but they also remind us that the world is more integrated than we recognise or admit. The interconnectedness is not just in trade, which receives the most attention, but also travel, sports, entertainment, education, and even social or familial relations across multiple countries and continents.

These global links at the heart of the international system have in recent times come under severe attack by populists and nationalists intent on curbing or cutting them altogether. In COVID-19 they may have found an unlikely ally. But they should not celebrate just yet because the pandemic makes the reverse argument for greater global cooperation.

Pandemics also have a way of disrupting normal behaviour, including long-standing practices, and introduce new ones, at least for the duration of the disease. The restrictions they cause touch on the very heart of our social being as human beings – social interaction and gathering. We are distinguished by our conscious choice to congregate. We do it for any number of reasons: celebration, festivities, cultural events, or simply being together. It is both part and expression of our social being.

Now we have to learn new ways of doing this. Of course, it is difficult to learn new habits or unlearn old ones, but the love of life ensures that we do.

‘Concerted international response’

For instance, we are learning to greet without physical contact. Touch (and the degree of its warmth, firmness or duration) is an expression of affection, friendliness or goodwill. Now we have to learn to show those feelings differently. For this, we might turn to the Asian way of greeting: bowing before the other. It is at once respectful and shows the regard one has for the other.

We are adapting to worship without congregating in a temple. We might even get used to a virtual church and congregation and innovative ways of receiving Holy Communion.

Marriage ceremonies too had become such mega social events, involving political rally-size crowds, budgets to match and elaborate organisation. They had gone beyond the family for whom they should have the deepest significance to a kind of social exhibition.

COVID-19 is making us relearn the real value of marriage ceremonies and give them their due importance.

It is affecting the way we congregate. We cannot do it as we wish as response to the virus in a number of countries shows. There is lockdown everywhere. Borders are closing. Familiar sights are changing. Emptiness everywhere: on streets, entertainment halls, stadia, schools and churches.

Fear of a pandemic is not all negative. It can mobilise people beyond individual countries, bringing them together in a fight against a common threat. Perhaps it is the fear of all of us perishing that does it, or the realisation that we are all in it together and our survival as a species depends on working together.

Common danger makes us put our differences behind. And so there is no longer them and us, finger-pointing or lecturing. We are all humanity at risk. This is where the answer to the pandemic will come from: prudent national action and concerted international response.