Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic, scholars in the field of Health and Allied Sciences have started investigating the etiology, epidemiology, pathophysiology, histopathology, clinical evaluation/treatment/management and diagnosis of the COVID-19. especially from China, where the outbreak began. These remarkable researchers kept on pursuing this path even under perilous working conditions that resulted in the loss of some. They have truly demonstrated and shown what researchers must do all the time in constantly searching for solutions to alleviate the pain of their fellow humans even in times of pandemic. However, more has to be done by their colleagues in other countries. There is a need for medical scientists to investigate the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus in different regions of the world. For instance, while medical scientists search through the lens of orthodox medicine, herbal practitioners are experimenting on ways of using herbal extracts in producing medicine that can boost the immune system and/or provide a strong immune buffer to fight the coronavirus. These efforts are commendable. More work has to be done in searching for more efficient means of conducting tests on COVID-19 patients, carrying out contact tracing, and precautionary/preventive measures for the coronavirus.
Researchers in the field of Engineering, particularly
Computer and Mechanical Engineering are devising technologies to help in
mitigating the spread of the COVID-19. Digital technologies such as drones and
robocops have been designed and used in some countries, to sum up, manual enforcement
of lockdowns. Likewise, mobile technologies such as the development of new apps
for contact tracing of patients of the COVID-19 as well as those who have had
contact with them are being designed. For instance, MIT researchers are
developing a system based on artificial intelligence to complement the manual
contact tracing carried out by public health personnel that relies on
short-range Bluetooth signals from smartphones. In South Africa, ambulances
endowed with automated test kits and laboratory services designed as a result
of diligent efforts in research are being used in testing and tracking persons
with the COVID-19 even in remote, hard-to-reach areas. In Ghana, the Ministry
of Health recently launched the COVID-19 app for tracing people infected or who
have had contact with carriers of the COVID-19 virus. These technologies
developed as a result of rigorous studies by some mechanical engineers as well
as computer hardware and software engineers are being deployed to aid in the
fight against the COVID-19. More technological tools to fight the coronavirus
are still required and dedicated researchers in the field of engineering are
constantly on the table investigating these potentials.
Researchers in agriculture has a great research task in stock
for them. The lockdown has resulted in a high record of postharvest losses in
countries. What are the efficient ways of mitigating post-harvest losses during
periods of pandemic and lockdowns? How can farmers use online marketing
strategies and platforms to connect to clients to patronize their products to
prevent them from incurring high financial losses? What can the ministry of
food and agriculture do to assist these poor farmers in managing the crisis of
lockdowns? What are some of the efficient ways the perishable farm produce
could be processed into non-perishable products by food manufacturing
companies? Sadly, studies in these areas are yet to be undertaken.
The tourism and hospitality management sector have been hit
greatly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many scheduled tours and tourism
activities have been canceled due to travel bans and lockdowns. It is estimated
that the tourism sector globally will lose high revenue up to the value of
close to two billion dollars. This is the time researchers in tourism and
hospitality management might consider virtual means of marketing these tourism
sites through intensified research into smart tourism and e-tourism. This
pandemic period should be the time that researchers in this field would find
ways of increasing public awareness of smart tourism and e-tourism.
Scholars in the Social Sciences and Humanities such as
sociologists, anthropologists and culturists have the task in investigating the
sociological impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak such as ways of dealing with
social anxiety as a result of the pandemic. Also, an assessment of the economic
impacts of the COVID-19 on business activities, the need to embark on
e-business, e-marketing, e-banking and other electronic forms of carrying out
business activities are important topics that must be explored. Social and
Cultural anthropologists should look into the cultural and social perceptions
of the different people across the regions of the world about the coronavirus
and recommend the application of culturally relevant interventions to combat
the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, psychologists and psychiatrists
must suggest ways of dealing with post-traumatic disorders from quarantining,
as well as stigmatization and discrimination against COVID-19 patients and
their relatives.
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