Clueless about Coronavirus
NASA and its scientists, the saviour of humanity know that the planet is reeling under a virus attack? How I miss the images of Hollywood films! Wish they were real.
Earth's natural magnetic field shifted and for months world's strategic-scientific-navigational folks were clueless. They might have known since flights reached their destinations, ships anchored home, strategic and commercial launches and satellites found their orbits, passengers and goods reached their locations, so on and so forth. WE WERE NOT TOLD about it.
If, coronavirus affects humans only and other life-forms animals and plants are immune to it, then, that could be a defence as well and maybe, we need not wait for 60% of human population to get infected. For countries like China and India and many in this Indian subcontinent and elsewhere, the 'herd immunity' is the plan by default. Have we forgotten population density, the limits of social distancing? Social distancing through stay at home is to s l o w the spread of coronavirus through human transmission. Period. There is no immunity and it is no cure. S l o w just to s l o w down its spread.
Mask to ventilators are not cures, aspects of breathing difficulty and its severity when coronavirus gets you. They are like 'relief' material or a 'protective' measure. This is not to undermine the importance of relief or protection. At the end of day, we might just be able to provide relief and protection and unable to do any more. Most of what counts as medical treatment is providing relief and protection till the biological organism recuperates.
Protective measures are critical to those who would be exposed to it, when patients with this virus are admitted, treated, or when we test medicines, anti-dotes and vaccines. West calls them health care workers and those related with it need masks and gear. Risk, and hence the need to protect health related professionals is immediate, direct and crucial. Remember the Chinese doctor (ophthalmologist) who tried warning us about coronavirus and the director of the Wuhan Central Hospital, both are dead.
Adding man-made causes through negligence, or distributional failures of goods would not help; it would add newer and more complex dimensions to the pandemic. Good hygiene and infections were connected earlier as well; hopefully hygiene and cleanliness would be as preventive as they are touted to be. It would be best to steer clear of the cultural particularity of etiquette, whether French and Spanish greeting or Indian Namaste is better? Cultural food habits of different populace should not have been called out and pointed out as a possible cause, source and origin of coronavirus. However, all that now belongs to should-not-have-been.
The good old theory about virus is simple, they have short life, need a carrier and organism as a host, unless, this corona virus is novel. Life of a virus and the longevity of its effect on life forms are different. WHO says it is novel, partly because what the deal is and how to deal with it is not clear, not yet. It is a definite possibility that the required steps that deletes the coronavirus does not exist. We may have to do with our best possible bets, whatever they are. Those dealing with corona immediately and directly are clueless, so are we, while it's a hoax is still doing rounds.
The road has disappeared from the 'roadmap' for the coronavirus; roads for the time being are empty.
The Indian state (they are not alone) insists corona's origin is foreign and relates it to commutation and transportation. First at airports, they didn't know what to screen for and how? Do Indians and every other nation affected by coronavirus or n covid-19; have a reliable kit to test its presence even today? In India, the authorities created a mess at the airports and stamped everyone as suspicious with inks.
Initially, they went after folks coming from China and got their Target countries wrong. For two months and more people who came from Italy, Germany, UK, France, Iran and pardon me for saying US of A went out from the airports in India and elsewhere without strict screening for coronavirus. So, we have so many Patient-31's s roaming about, following that trajectory of spreading infection. Is this scale of spread is what is being identified as global pandemic?
International travel anyway is complicated with multi-entry visas and more than one passport, if one were to trace the routes of coronavirus. Remember those stranded ships news broke about in January this year. Now everyone is stranded; at home and outside. How this feeling registered with us!
On 23rd march, airports were closed and a lock-down was enforced, announced first for 14 hours and then, extended in the usual Indian way. Then, again extended for 21 more days on 24th march with an announcement in India. The penchant for announcements in lieu of planning, preparedness and clarity about objectives is a hinge in the third world toward ever-present revelation and divine providence.
I got suspicious about the scale of coronavirus in first week of March, when reports poured in India that the celebs, rich and stars are at home, without stating why. They knew before hand, they were kept in the loop? General public has to wait for a more than a week to be told to stay at home.
If, everyone came out in droves as they do, after the curfews they are familiar with the little gains of self-confinement for hours would be frittered away in seconds; the 'janta curfew' at 9 P.M would fail to halt transmission. Oh boy (is it still proper) we have already seen that, haven't we? Any gathering would require that we Keep Safe Distance to cut down human transmission. An arms’ length should be fine, by that I mean that people who are asymptomatic and symptomatic are not satellite discs or radio stations transmitting the virus.
Earth's natural magnetic field shifted and for months world's strategic-scientific-navigational folks were clueless. They might have known since flights reached their destinations, ships anchored home, strategic and commercial launches and satellites found their orbits, passengers and goods reached their locations, so on and so forth. WE WERE NOT TOLD about it.
If, coronavirus affects humans only and other life-forms animals and plants are immune to it, then, that could be a defence as well and maybe, we need not wait for 60% of human population to get infected. For countries like China and India and many in this Indian subcontinent and elsewhere, the 'herd immunity' is the plan by default. Have we forgotten population density, the limits of social distancing? Social distancing through stay at home is to s l o w the spread of coronavirus through human transmission. Period. There is no immunity and it is no cure. S l o w just to s l o w down its spread.
Mask to ventilators are not cures, aspects of breathing difficulty and its severity when coronavirus gets you. They are like 'relief' material or a 'protective' measure. This is not to undermine the importance of relief or protection. At the end of day, we might just be able to provide relief and protection and unable to do any more. Most of what counts as medical treatment is providing relief and protection till the biological organism recuperates.
Protective measures are critical to those who would be exposed to it, when patients with this virus are admitted, treated, or when we test medicines, anti-dotes and vaccines. West calls them health care workers and those related with it need masks and gear. Risk, and hence the need to protect health related professionals is immediate, direct and crucial. Remember the Chinese doctor (ophthalmologist) who tried warning us about coronavirus and the director of the Wuhan Central Hospital, both are dead.
Adding man-made causes through negligence, or distributional failures of goods would not help; it would add newer and more complex dimensions to the pandemic. Good hygiene and infections were connected earlier as well; hopefully hygiene and cleanliness would be as preventive as they are touted to be. It would be best to steer clear of the cultural particularity of etiquette, whether French and Spanish greeting or Indian Namaste is better? Cultural food habits of different populace should not have been called out and pointed out as a possible cause, source and origin of coronavirus. However, all that now belongs to should-not-have-been.
The good old theory about virus is simple, they have short life, need a carrier and organism as a host, unless, this corona virus is novel. Life of a virus and the longevity of its effect on life forms are different. WHO says it is novel, partly because what the deal is and how to deal with it is not clear, not yet. It is a definite possibility that the required steps that deletes the coronavirus does not exist. We may have to do with our best possible bets, whatever they are. Those dealing with corona immediately and directly are clueless, so are we, while it's a hoax is still doing rounds.
The road has disappeared from the 'roadmap' for the coronavirus; roads for the time being are empty.
The Indian state (they are not alone) insists corona's origin is foreign and relates it to commutation and transportation. First at airports, they didn't know what to screen for and how? Do Indians and every other nation affected by coronavirus or n covid-19; have a reliable kit to test its presence even today? In India, the authorities created a mess at the airports and stamped everyone as suspicious with inks.
Initially, they went after folks coming from China and got their Target countries wrong. For two months and more people who came from Italy, Germany, UK, France, Iran and pardon me for saying US of A went out from the airports in India and elsewhere without strict screening for coronavirus. So, we have so many Patient-31's s roaming about, following that trajectory of spreading infection. Is this scale of spread is what is being identified as global pandemic?
International travel anyway is complicated with multi-entry visas and more than one passport, if one were to trace the routes of coronavirus. Remember those stranded ships news broke about in January this year. Now everyone is stranded; at home and outside. How this feeling registered with us!
On 23rd march, airports were closed and a lock-down was enforced, announced first for 14 hours and then, extended in the usual Indian way. Then, again extended for 21 more days on 24th march with an announcement in India. The penchant for announcements in lieu of planning, preparedness and clarity about objectives is a hinge in the third world toward ever-present revelation and divine providence.
I got suspicious about the scale of coronavirus in first week of March, when reports poured in India that the celebs, rich and stars are at home, without stating why. They knew before hand, they were kept in the loop? General public has to wait for a more than a week to be told to stay at home.
If, everyone came out in droves as they do, after the curfews they are familiar with the little gains of self-confinement for hours would be frittered away in seconds; the 'janta curfew' at 9 P.M would fail to halt transmission. Oh boy (is it still proper) we have already seen that, haven't we? Any gathering would require that we Keep Safe Distance to cut down human transmission. An arms’ length should be fine, by that I mean that people who are asymptomatic and symptomatic are not satellite discs or radio stations transmitting the virus.
Maintaining distance would require you to think differently, like avoid pillion riding, prefer delivery at home as it maintains 'distance' better then long queues at stores, things over which people have lost control, already. There is a lock-down and its interpretation, and lawful and unlawful enforcement's would multiply.
Simple logistical failures of delivery of whatever governments would identify as 'essential' would lead people to wonder, if, totalitarian government would have been better.
Lock-down and the form it would take in various countries would impact the access and availability of the essential. Those with tenuous and relatively less secure connections with the market the effect would be severe -- access to goods through markets being the predominant mode. If for a moment one ignores and discounts what happens to public health and health care system, access to essential would be severely affected.
And after three-four days of the lock-down the migrant labourers came out marching, followed by migrant measures by those keen to enforce the lock-down. Social distancing, hospital beds, respirators and ventilators took a back seat and food, water and return and search for the elusive security and 'home' filled the roads. Do migrant labourers have a better measure of coronavirus and the distance it demands? Whether it is day-to-day life or a crisis, life cannot be lived by taking premeditated and fixed steps.
Oddly, the official line, rumours and common sense have converged on distancing and stay at home, so has the SOCIAL form of scientific and medical advice to keep infections away. The domesticated animals living around human settlements also need to be fed, distance with them too?
How are others doing, elsewhere, clueless?
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