I needn't explain any part of it by now. It's gradually overtaking the world, or at least according to the media and our politicians it is. The coronavirus: that new influenza strain from China, with a name like a Mexican beer, that's having us strip supermarkets dry of toilet paper and is now even causing major public events, including possibly soon the Tokyo Olympics, to be postponed or scrapped altogether. (And strangely enough, you may recall the Zika virus threatened the Rio Games.)
Personally I acknowledge it has become an international hazard, although I'm not convinced it hasn't been subject to media sensationalism and hyperbole. But regardless, the warnings we're being bombarded with to wash or sanitise our hands as much as possible should be heeded, and in fact we should do that even when there's no such worldwide health threat.
This week, here in Australia, indeed my own state of Queensland, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who've been here filming a movie, were diagnosed with it and taken into quarantine on the Gold Coast. Since he is my favourite actor ever, and she is deservedly a Hollywood heavyweight in her own right, this gave me quite a bad feeling, as did the news just today that a case has now been confirmed in my own city. Conversely, federal politician Peter Dutton has also just been announced as having it and while I hate him personally and politically, that doesn't mean I want him to die or become incapacitated.
The COVID-19 is shaping up to be 2020's definitive worldwide news story, and lamentably it's obviously not a positive one. But no matter how much facts or fiction we're being fed about it, I would recommend we all follow the instructions health professionals are giving us regarding it. Because it's always better to be safe than sorry, particularly on matters of mortality.
No comments:
Post a Comment