As of this writing, Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE shows that there are 95,748 confirmed cases. (Philippines - 3 | UAE - 28 | Mainland China - 80,411)
I feel very sad because it has claimed 3,286 lives and scared because this disease is very deadly. There are articles that say that there was a patient who recovered already but got reinfected so what will happen to 53,423 patients who were cleared already? May they recover fully well soon.
The World Health Organization (WHO) together with medical scientists work round-the-clock to be able to come up with medicines and ways that will defeat COVID-19 within the shortest time possible. Likewise the government bodies of many countries formulate and implement policies to combat the same because the impact on the economy and other aspects of life, is huge.
As I recalled how 2020 greeted us with some disasters, I remembered the violent eruption of Taal Volcano in our place on 12 January 2020. Since the local government prepared for it, there was no death recorded upon eruption. Many flights were canceled so there was a reduced number of tourists. I think the burning heat caused by a gas thrust that had an upward force in the explosion and spread out, killed many airborne viruses. Our local people were advised to wear face masks / N95 so as not to get sick because of ashfall. Many donors from different countries sent protective personal masks and emergency kits. It seemed that it was a disaster that prepared us to brace for a worse one.
With the volcano eruption, people in high-risk areas would be advised to evacuate, but with COVID-19, infected people would be asked to stay to contain it.
This disease does not discriminate against people and can attack anyone, regardless of race, age, gender, religion and economic status. People can be judgmental and be racist, but not this disease. When bad guys perceive a person to be Chinese, they get away from him/her and some even physically hurt the person/Asian who looks like them. I feel bad hearing news about this. The stigma is there and will be always with the victims even if the ordeal is over.
For those who are struggling or experiencing life's hard hits, this is a time to be grateful for life. There are many of us who have no money in the pocket and are heavily stressed with the bills and other payables. Thinking about those COVID-19 patients will make us realize that their situation is worse than ours -- even if they have no financial problems.
I am sure the overseas workers and families away from them will cry when they see the video clip showing a little girl in tears, bringing food to her mother who is a healthcare practitioner in Wuhan, China. They are within reach to each other but they cannot even touch each other. Some doctors and nurses died already. One nurse cried as she could not go home when she lost her mother. It makes us think -- what is better or which is more difficult -- away from the family because of distance gap as you are really far from each other, or near but far because you cannot get close to each other?
In the Digital Age, we use touchpoints to live in a 'smart' way as intelligent machines, equipment or device must be touched only to do what we want them to do. We touch the vending machines to drop the products we need. We touch the screens in the kiosks to process the transactions; for example, we order McDonald's foods by touching the computer screen. AI takes jobs away from many people. Does it remind us to give those jobs back to real people?
WHDH.com reports that contaminated cash may be spreading coronavirus as per the World Health Organization. People are advised to use hand sanitizer after touching cash. This means that we all lead to digital/contactless payments. (The images of Queen Elizabeth using hand gloves flashes in my mind. This, perhaps, is one of the secrets of her long life.)
The aviation industry is bleeding. Many travels are stopped and employees were either terminated or instructed to go on leave by some airline companies. Is this God's way of reducing global warming as airplanes emit greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxides that form ozone? (Read more about airplane emissions here.)
The air quality in China is not good because of many manufacturing industries. We know that if the air is poor, it adversely affects the immune system of human beings. If health is wealth, the country gets poor if its citizens are sick. In a way, China gained in terms of money for exporting products, but it suffered breathing air pollutants. With the coronavirus outbreak, the air improved. NASA's Earth Observatory shows 'how much pollution levels have dropped over Chinese cities with a new map'.
It also reminds us to check our places if there are closed areas, no ventilation at all, with poor indoor air quality, and if air extractors can be installed or if portable ones can be used on a regular basis to clean the air inside.
Some supermarkets run out of stock because consumers know that many items come from China, and many flights from and to affected areas were stopped by some countries, and yes, many manufacturing companies closed either temporarily or permanently. People are in panic mode, thinking that they cannot buy anything even if they have money to go shopping.
This is a lesson learned also for every country to manufacture products needed instead of relying heavily on imports because when something bad happens like this in the country of vendor/provider, sourcing from other countries will be more expensive and sometimes very difficult. Now "Germany bans export of medical protection (protective) gear due to coronavirus", according to Reuters. Indeed it is high time to take solid and fast actions towards self-sufficiency, particularly in terms of supply of foods and water, and healthcare items.
Data analytics helps to analyze the threats better, and predict what can be good or bad for the people. It will be a very great help if the communication system will be super fast, highly secured and truly reflective of what really goes on because the inputs will be the basis of the actions that will be taken by authorities.
Many schools in affected areas have been instructed to close and students will be on distance learning mode. Some companies resort to advising their employees to work from home.
A free communication, particularly video chats, will help provide a better and more real-time information to intended receiver/s. In times like this, every fil/centavo counts. AED50 x 12 months fee for a video chat platform which is free in other parts of the world, is AED600 which can buy 40 meals package at AED15 each. If the issue is the bad guys may utilize such free platforms, I am very confident that the local intelligence authorities with the defense team are capable of protecting the residents and tourists.
When Taal Volcano erupted I wanted to see my family via video chat. SMS and voice messages would not allow me to see what was really happening over there. My mother is old and got confined in the hospital, I wanted to see her and hear her voice even via video chat because my family members would always tell me not to worry. At least if my old sick mother would see me on camera, she would be happy, and me, happier.
A free video chat platform will allow sick patients, family members and/or concerned citizens to immediately report their cases to the authorities so proper actions can be taken. It will allow teachers and students to interact with each other to make remote learning an effective one. It will allow company managers, staff and other stakeholders to communicate with each other so there is continuity of business. People who lost their jobs can work from home for some virtual jobs.
COVID-19 is a wake-up call for all people to be a minimalist, to buy what they basically need because when disaster happens like this, what else can we bring if we get infected? Nothing really matters. We work hard trading time for materials we want to buy, but if this hits us, do they matter?
Passionately monitoring things, I come to this conclusion: we all get to basics. It's like riding on the airplane with the limited weight capacity. We remove excess things or they will harm us. We remove things that will destroy us and we will be whole and safe. We listen to warnings -- our inner voices, nature's signals and intellectual people's science-based reminders.
Perhaps one day, foods and beverages will be made more affordable if not free for many people so poor people will not eat bats and snakes. Perhaps one day, all people will be reached out to inform them about the right hygiene and will be provided with safe water to drink, plus soap to clean their hands. Perhaps one day, all people will be taught to make their ow hand disinfectant. Perhaps one day, materialism would not be the gauge of a person's worth because those unnecessary things require processing that pollutes the air. Perhaps, one day, I hope in our lifetime, we all could have very strong immune system and earth would be a pathogen-free place, with all people healthy and happy.
---
Photo credits: Pixabay
Comments
Post a Comment