African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1420: Chapter 9: Impact_2

This can be seen from the World War, which caused tens of millions of casualties, yet the global population continued to grow.

In this regard, the threat of the European pandemic is actually far less than the Black Death. It’s important to note that during the Black Death, Europe lost one-third of its population.

Of course, this was also influenced by the era. During the Black Death, human technology and medical standards were still poor, whereas by the early 20th century, society had undergone two rounds of technological revolution, and the medical field was undergoing explosive development, with the modern medical industry beginning to flourish.

Moreover, speaking of the era when the Black Death broke out, the sanitary conditions of Europeans were, to exaggerate a bit, not much different from pigsties, so it is not surprising that the Black Death ran rampant.

However, what Labe did not know is that the mortality rate of the current European influenza might be higher than he understood. After all, the data gathered by the East African Government are mainly from domestic cases, but the medical conditions and sanitary environments in East Africa, when placed on a global scale, are still above average or even among the best.

His wife said: ”That’s still very frightening. This plague is like drawing lots. Yesterday’s news already reported that over a hundred people nationwide have died because of this plague, and there is still no specific medicine to deal with this epidemic. According to government forecasts, the number of patients domestically could grow exponentially in the coming months.”

Labe, however, said nonchalantly: ”This is beyond our control. There is an ancient saying in the East: If it’s meant to be, it will be; if it’s not, don’t force it. We just need to do our part.”

”If we protect ourselves well, even if we do get infected eventually, we’ll be among the last. You know, the country is also conducting research on this epidemic, and maybe in the end, a specific medicine will be developed.”

For Labe’s idea, it actually aligns with the views of today’s world, especially among citizens of industrialized countries, because the rapid advancement of technology in the early 20th century inflated people’s mentality, inevitably leading them to believe that man can conquer nature.

After all, contemporary society even initially achieved all sorts of incredible feats; the advent of planes, cars, ships, submarines, radio, etc., directly had a huge impact on people’s lives at the time.

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After breakfast, Labe got dressed and prepared to go to work. Though the epidemic was starting to spread in Cabinda, the businesses, especially the medium and large enterprises, were still operating as usual.

Only some shops and workshops weren’t open, but even if they were, business wouldn’t be good now; after all, many consumers are now holed up at home and not going anywhere.

Labe is a worker at a furniture factory in Cabinda, located in the eastern part of Cabinda. This makes sense because Cabinda is a city surrounded by rainforests, so timber processing is one of Cabinda’s important industries.

Being a large city, Cabinda itself has pretty good consumption power, so the business of Labe’s furniture factory has always been quite good.

”Good morning, Labe.” A masked neighbor greeted Labe, who had just stepped outside, from across the yard.

”Morning, Vlad,” Labe responded. ”How’s work lately?”

Vlad frowned and said: ”Don’t mention it. Last night, the deputy manager of our factory called me to say that our co-worker Hans had contracted the European flu, and he has been quarantined at home.”

”Our factory notified us to be on guard. Just mentioning it gives me a headache because, with one infected person already, who knows if others in the factory might also be infected.”

”It leaves me in a dilemma. If I go to work, I might get infected, but if I don’t go to the factory, they won’t approve the leave.”

Hearing what neighbor Vlad said, Mr. Labe walked a couple of steps into his own yard without showing any reaction.

He said: ”Vlad, don’t worry. After all, the mortality rate of the European flu isn’t considered too high, around five percent. If you take antipyretic medication, most people should be fine.”

Vlad waved his hand and said: ”You don’t have to comfort me. I feel most people probably can’t avoid this plague, especially since the epidemic prevention department also said that unless all external contact is cut off, many people are at risk of infection.”

”But for people like us, that’s obviously unrealistic, because we need to work and live, and we can’t just stay home doing nothing. Moreover, cities are densely populated areas, which favors the spread of the European flu.”

”That said, the countryside is actually safer, and the countryside can also be self-sufficient. I’ve even thought about returning to my hometown village.”

In this regard, Labe was quite in agreement: ”Right now, the countryside is indeed the safest, but unfortunately our work is in the city. If financially possible, I’d definitely take my family to the country to avoid it for a while.”

At this point, Conrad said: ”Mr. Labe, your children should have stopped going to school by now, right? If so, why not send them to the country first, let their grandparents take care of them for a while.”

Conrad’s suggestion gave Labe a bright idea, and he said: ”If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve forgotten about it. But my parents passed away long ago, although I can send the three kids to my brother.”

Most East Africans in the countryside have relatives, after all, the rapid urbanization of East Africa is a matter of the last twenty years. Many new urban residents who flooded into the cities previously lived in rural areas.