A government panel of experts on infectious disease concluded last week that Japan had narrowly kept the outbreak of the new coronavirus under control. The panel nonetheless warned that the current situation could still lead to "overshooting" — a nationwide explosive surge of COVID-19.
It's unclear when and how the spread of the coronavirus will subside. But this pandemic, as in similar cases in the past, could cause many economic, political, social, religious and cultural upheavals, and profoundly change the course of human history.
In fact, history shows that pandemics not only destroyed powerful empires, but also changed the course of political struggles, economic systems, social values and scientific priorities. Therefore it is worthwhile to examine the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the world in 2020 and beyond in comparison with previous pandemics.
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