Royal Warning: Prince Charles Cautions About Next Pandemic After COVID-19
Having to experience the novel coronavirus firsthand, the heir to the British throne has opened up about his fears about another pandemic that could hit the world if the people will not get their acts together.
While the United Kingdom is at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in March, Prince Charles was one of the unfortunate patients who has contracted COVID-19. Although the 71-year-old Prince of Wales showed mild symptoms, he was still put under isolation and medication.
Despite being vulnerable to the virus, Prince Charles managed to recover and get back to his feet on his royal duties remotely. But even after recovering from COVID-19, Prince Charles remains quarantined in his Birkhall home in Scotland.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Prince Charles expressed his sympathies with the people gravely affected by the pandemic. However, he emphasized that the world could experience more pandemic if the people continue to take climate change and loss of biodiversity lightly.
"We've had these other disasters with SARS and Ebola, and goodness knows what else, all of these things are related to the loss of biodiversity," Prince Charles said in a video call interview for the series "After The Pandemic: Our New World."
"We should have been treating the planet as if it was a patient long ago. So no self-respecting doctor would ever have let the situation, if the planet is a patient, reach this stage before making an intervention."
The future king also believes that we are "paying the price as a result" of this global pandemic.
Finding Long-Term Solution
Usually, talking about the health issues of a member of the royal family is considered off limits, but Prince Charles candidly shared his personal experience after testing positive for coronavirus.
The Prince of Wales considered himself lucky to get away with the virus lightly. He said the humbling experience motivated him to push through with his environmental plans and find a way out of the health crisis.
"It makes me even more determined to push and shout and prod if you see what I mean," Prince Charles said.
"But I've had it, and I can so understand what other people have gone through," he furthered, adding that his heart breaks for those who lost their loved ones and didn't even get the chance to see them for the last time.
Prince Charles said that the only way to bring back the wold to normal is to revive the people's relationship with the natural world. He believes that global efforts should focus on "green recovery" to rebuild economies.
Adapting To The New Normal
The future king also aired some of his frustration, thinking that the world has to experience a global pandemic before we get a wake-up call to the threats of our actions.
Like the rest of the world, the royal family adjusted to the "new normal" due to the COVID-19 health crisis. In the past crisis, senior royals would go out of their way to show their support and sympathy through royal engagements. But now, they work from home and utilizing modern technology to stay connected to the people of the United Kingdom.
