Coronavirus: Take care and Don’t panic..
Am I imagining things or am I correct in thinking that the public is once again being ‘played’ by the media, this time, as far as the Coronavirus is concerned?
Unless you’ve been on another planet these past five or six weeks, you would be aware of the Coronavirus epidemic, which has dominated social media, TV and radio news bulletins, talk shows and newspaper headlines.
In Australia, you could almost be forgotten for asking “what bushfires?” as news of our tragic summer has literally vanished from the front pages of the papers just a week into autumn as the media delights in force-feeding the public story after story about the dreaded ‘Covid 19’.
The Coronavirus originated in China in December last year, but it has been reported that the Chinese government allegedly ‘hid’ news of the epidemic from the World Health Organisation until almost a month later.
Notice how I called it an epidemic and not a pandemic, as the media and the Australian government would love us to believe.
A pandemic is an illness which is prevalent throughout the world, which Coronavirus IS NOT.
Yes, there has been a tragic loss of life as a result of this rampant illness, with over 3,200 dead, including over 3,000 in China alone.
Across the globe, there are now 100,000 confirmed cases of people showing signs of the virus.
But when you take into account that the world’s population is over 6 billion, this means that the percentage of humans who have contracted the illness is 0.0000166666%.
(I wasn’t sure if my calculator had enough zeros….AFTER the decimal point!!)
In Australia, there are now 63 confirmed cases including 28 in New South Wales.
The two Australians who have died were aged 78 and 95 respectively, so definitely in the most high risk category.
That’s two citizens from a population of over 25 million.
Hardly the stuff that pandemics are made of….well, not in my view anyway.
Now please don’t think for one second that I am being flippant about ANY life and death situation, dear brothers and sisters.
One life lost is one too many and my prayers and sympathies go out to each and every person whose life has in any way been impacted by this illness.
But the more I look at social media and television and see the way this crisis is being portrayed, the more I can only shake my head!
In Sydney alone, supermarket shelves in some suburbs are being emptied on a daily basis within minutes of trading hours commencing, as gullible members of the public go on a spending spree.
Longlife milk, soaps and other sanitisers, bottled water, canned food, rice and pasta I can understand….. but this fixation with toilet paper I admit has me somewhat baffled.
As Muslims, we are taught from a young age the importance of hygiene and washing ourselves thoroughly.
We practice Wudu before each and every time we pray. It’s our purification ritual and the saying “cleanliness is next to Godliness” holds true.
But just exactly what are the public thinking when they promote toilet paper to the top of their shopping lists over the real essentials I have mentioned?
Why all this stockpiling….anybody would think that we are about to be invaded and occupied by an overseas Superpower and confined to our homes like prisoners!
Because this is the perception that so many members of the public appear to have, and the media and the government must be blamed for a lot of it, as there is a lot of misinformation being circulated….as well as a lack of information much of the time.
Yes….3,200 people have died throughout the world over the past six weeks or so out of 6 billion (0.0000005333 percent of the population) – and as previously mentioned, two people from 25 million Australians (seriously, I need to download a new calculator App for to work out the percentages for that one.)
In other words, the chances of being killed in a road accident – or even an air crash – are far more likely than you contracting, let alone dying from Coronavirus.
But this is not to say that I don’t urge that you take care, in all instances.
I applaud governments in so many countries for ramping up medical testing procedures at airports.
The current banning of flights into Australia from China, Iran and South Korea is understandable.
The temporary closing of schools such as has occurred at Sydney’s Epping Boys High where a young student has sadly contracted the illness is also a necessity…but note, I am not talking ALL schools, only where a risk has been clearly established.
Those of you who catch public transport, please take particular care and in this regard let’s hope the NSW transport department has a plan in place to regularly sanitise our trains and buses….because some of them are FILTHY!!
While sporting officials admit to the real possibility of this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo being cancelled, I can only applaud officials in Saudi Arabia for taking the strong but sensible decision to close the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medinah an hour after the Isha prayer and re-open an hour before Fajr prayers each day.
The Kingdom temporarily suspended all Umrah pilgrimages recently and the Grand Mosque is being sterilised, although the upper levels of the Mosque remain open for prayers.
Researchers in many countries including Australia are working frantically to develop the first Coronavirus vaccine.
Hopefully, a remedy is only a matter of weeks away, but in the meantime, please stay safe….but almost as important…please don’t PANIC.
CORONAVIRUS….What You Should Know
1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours – so if you come into contact with any metal surface – wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric, it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but – a lot can happen during that time – you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.
10. Can’t emphasize enough – drink plenty of water!
The symptoms
1. It will first infect the throat, so you’ll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.
3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing.
4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you’re drowning. It’s imperative you then seek immediate attention.
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