COVID-19 is a modest reminder of the catastrophic toll of viral pathogens and their potential weaponization against human groups. In both the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, deliberate exposure to infectious disease was a significant means of extermination. The drafters of the 1948 Genocide Convention were mindful that living conditions in the ghettos and concentration camps claimed more lives than mass-executions. Although "slow death" was included under Article II(c) however, there has been almost no jurisprudence or scholarship on its application to infectious disease. Contemporary examples from East Timor, Sudan, and Myanmar demonstrate its direct and continuing relevance to the crime of genocide.

COVID-19适度提醒了病毒病原体的灾难性死亡及其对人类群体的潜在武器化。在亚美尼亚种族灭绝和大屠杀中，故意暴露于传染病是一种重要的灭绝手段。1948年《灭绝种族罪公约》的起草者铭记，贫民窟和集中营的生活条件比大规模处决所夺取的生命更多。尽管第二条（c）款包括“缓慢死亡”，但几乎没有关于将其应用于传染病的判例或学术研究。东帝汶，苏丹和缅甸的当代例子表明，它与种族灭绝罪有着直接和持续的联系。