More countries in Africa are instituting measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including in some countries yet to report a case of infection.

The measures are pragmatic, as need not be said, but they are a mix of optimism and dread, particularly in Africa. Optimism, because signs of encouragement are beginning to show, even as the covid-19 continues its social and economic ravage around the world.

One hopeful sign is China, which has announced that it has recorded no new local infections for the first time since the crisis began three months ago. It was there the first cases were reported,

Each country is different in circumstance, but with life returning to normal in China it shows that, notwithstanding projected economic and social impact, there’s a chance the virus may not take too long to conquer if the strategy is right. China’s worry now is international travellers into the country who could bring it back.

The more despairing signs can be seen in the virus trends elsewhere, Italy, for example. The numbers of deaths caused by the coronavirus in the country have surpassed those that occurred in China, at more than 3400 by yesterday (Friday).

And that is only in the north of the country which has been affected by Covid-19 with the number cases now standing at over 41,000.

Another example is the US state of California, whose economy is the fifth-largest in the world ahead of Italy, ranked ninth, and other European countries—UK (ranked sixth), France (seventh)—struggling to deal with the coronavirus.

On Thursday, California went on lockdown ordering its 40 million residents to stay at home unless required to make essential trips, becoming the first US state to implement such extreme measures in a bid to contain the spreading coronavirus.  

The impact on the economy is expected to be huge, as will be in other countries that have had, or will be forced to impose such extreme measures.

In Africa, the spread of the virus has just begun and the strain is beginning to show in some countries. The expectation is that it will get bad in the continent. The World Health organisation has already warned Africa to "prepare for the worst.”

The hope is that measures already instituted will hold. This is including recent support by the likes of billionaire Jack Ma to African countries with masks and test kits, which will go a long way.

But it will require more, including the $12 billion emergency package the World Bank has committed to help developing countries improve their public health response and reduce the economic impact.

Also needed is safe and effective vaccine, if it can come fast enough. About 35 companies and academic institutions are racing to create such a vaccine, at least four of which already have candidates they have been testing in animals.

In the meantime, people are being asked to play their role heeding to their governments’ directives. However, some asked to work from home seem to take it as a holiday and have been seen in bars oblivious of the pandemic.

This behaviour, not seeming to care the effect it might have on a neighbour, is similar to the panic buying of large amounts of toilet paper that has had the world talking.

It has brought to the fore an aspect of our base human nature. Various theories have been proffered to explain the phenomenon of panic buying.

One theory argues that the panic buying of toilet paper is evolutionary in the role of disgust. Disgust is designed to make us not do something bad for us, such as being nauseous to eat something toxic or contaminated.

Buying the toilet paper, symbolically gives one a sense of control, not unlike the purpose for which we use in the bathroom.

The panic buying could also be due to evolutionary reflex: when we don’t know how to react to something, we look to others for guidance.

Another suggests game theory: Even if you’re not particularly worried about the pandemic, other people are more worried and tend panic. They stockpile on goods, threatening to leave you with none. So you stockpile to avoid being shut out by others.

One psychologist quoted in a US media organisation spoke of cognitive and emotional responses. He explains that cognitive bias is where we tend to overemphasize things that are recent and vivid, such as a plane crash which makes people fear to fly.

This effect is emotional, which triggers a need for self-affirmation – a need to feel in control that drives us to do unreasonable things like buying a year’s worth of toilet paper. It overwhelms the knowledge that we don’t need to be doing that.

The views expressed in this article are of the author.