THE RELEVANCE OF THE TORT OF PUBLIC NUISANCE TO THE CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC

Abstract

The tort of public nuisance was designed to protect public safety. As the global trend on the outbreak of COVID-19 continues, the pandemic had its first wave between December 2019 and January 2020 in Asia, and then swept through to Europe and America, recording its second wave from February till date. The Pandemic continues to take lives and leave a lot of negative impact in countries around the world. This ranges from the interference and obstruction with the exercise and enjoyment of certain rights and freedoms, to the rise in unemployment rate and the fall in economic growth and development. The effect of the coronavirus disease pandemic has also posed a challenge to the tort of public nuisance. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the ravaging COVID-19 Pandemic and the tort of public nuisance.