Covidism is the ideological manifestation of the various lockdown, social distancing, and mask wearing policies undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Origins
Although it is almost universally agreed that the first known cases of COVID-19 appeared in Wuhan, China, and that the virus's original host was likely bats, there are many circulating theories on the virus's specific origins. One of such theories is that the virus escaped from a lab in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, via a researcher who came into contact with a sick bat, and spread the disease without informing anyone. Another theory is that after infecting bats, the virus travelled through another intermediate host before reaching humans via contact or consumption. It has also been suspected that the virus originated in the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, although evidence also suggests possibility of the virus being introduced from outside, spreading more visibly in the marketplace.
There are also numerous conspiracy theories on COVID-19's origins. One of the most notable conspiracy theories, popular among right-wing and far-right groups in the United States, is that the virus is a biological weapon manufactured by the Chinese government to control its citizens as well as other nations. Another conspiracy theory is that the virus was manufactured by corporations in order to profit from vaccines. Yet another conspiracy theory, popular in China, is that it was a biological weapon manufactured by the CIA to undermine China's economy.
Controversy
Many have criticized China's handling of the pandemic, stating that their response was severely hampered by their hierarchical government. In the Chinese government, critics see tendency to shift blame, telling white lies to each other, to their citizens, and to the world, to maintain their reputation. Such critics have argued that this behavior allowed COVID-19 to take its toll on China and later on the entire world.
However, many have also criticized other major world governments, most notably, those of the United States and Brazil, for their distrust of pandemic control measures, and thus, not taking responsive measures to COVID-19 promptly enough, resulting in the illness and deaths of many citizens.
The political tensions highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic have created nationalist and xenophobic sentiments in many countries in 2020 and 2021, especially China and the United States, increasing the influence of conspiracy theories. The pandemic has also highlighted an increase in public distrust of governments and public health officials in many countries.
Governmental Responses
Mask Mandates
One of the most common policies issued by governments. Under mask mandates, citizens are usually required to wear masks in public, as well as inside private establishments. Mask mandates are an effort to reduce spreading, through greatly reducing inter-personal transfer of particles. The effectiveness of mask mandates against spreading is still questioned by many people, as they perceive masks to be too porous, as well as too often worn in an improper way (or outright not worn) by others around them.
Social Distancing
This is another common policy issued by governments, instructing citizens to avoid getting too close to other citizens in public. Social distancing is a stopgap measure, imposed to help limit spread by creating physical distance between people, thus reducing the risk of contact between uninfected individuals and potentially infectious individuals. The distance recommended by most governments is 6 feet. Some people have suggested that this may not be enough, as viral particles are able to travel up to 16 feet from sneezes and coughs. However, when combined with mask mandates, studies show that the risk of inter-personal transmission is reduced by more than 95%.
Lockdowns
Lockdowns were the initial reaction to the spread of COVID-19 in most countries. Lockdowns generally involved restricting citizens to their homes, to limit inter-household contact. Lockdowns were enacted with varying degrees of severity. As a more extreme example, the Chinese government, at one point, forbade people in entire provinces from leaving their apartment flats. In the United States, after the initial 2-4 weeks of nationwide lockdowns, some states decided to lift their lockdowns, with social distancing and mask measures still in place. While these more open states showed higher initial case totals, they haven't been affected by subsequent waves of COVID-19 as much, leading many to believe that lockdown measures merely delayed the inevitable.
However, lockdowns have also sometimes been proven to work. For example, lockdown measures helped effectively rid New Zealand of COVID-19 for months, stopping its spread and preventing many deaths. In China, after the initial outburst, the count of new daily cases fell quickly and have remained very low since summer of 2020, after hardcore response measures were introduced. Other governments around the world, including those in the United Kingdom, Italy, India, South Korea, have also documented a significant recovery from an initially large outbreak in their respective countries, after implementing lockdown measures.
The most common critiques of COVID-19 lockdown measures is that they damage countries' economies, are overly restrictive of the citizens' civil liberties, place stress on people's mental health, and are often ignored by the same politicians who propose and enforce them. Some suggest that lockdowns have caused more economic damage and deaths, via suicide and malnutrition due to increasing food insecurity, than the virus itself. However, there is currently not enough evidence to back up these claims.
NZ COVID Tracer
NZ COVID Tracer is a mobile software application made by the New Zealand government, which allows users to scan QR codes put up in buildings all around New Zealand. These QR codes allow citizens to record the times at which they visit certain public venues. The app also features Bluetooth tracing, to keep an anonymous record of the people the user has been near.
The app also allows users to register contact details, so that contact tracers can get in touch with someone if they need to. Users can also save their National Health Index numbers to speed up the testing process, as the app can then help them locate the closest COVID-19 testing centers.
How to Draw
- Draw a ball.
- Add a blue (#00AEF3) line inside the outline.
- Fill the rest of the ball an off-red (#F76060).
- Draw a black gavel, with lines in the ends like Authortarianism.
- Add eyes.
- (Optional) Add protein spikes on the gavel.
You're done!
Relations
Friends
Gamerism - Something to do while you're stuck inside.
Authoritarianism - We need you for proper pandemic response.
Police Statism - Thanks for enforcing public lockdown measures.
Stalinism - Nice tactics.
Frienemies
Dengism - Your incompetency let the coronavirus escape! At least you're locking down to prevent more spread.
Enemies
Libertarians - You need to stay inside; do you want to kill old people!?
Anarchists - You just want blind chaos!
Capitalists - Keeping the market going isn't worth human lives.
Corona Accelerationism - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, YOU CAN'T JUST SPREAD THE VIRUS, YOU'RE GONNA KILL 
GRANDMA!
Virus spreader - SAME APPLIES TO YOU!
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