Reactions to Covid-19

This is another article a different friend of mine sent me a while ago where the writer talks about his experience regarding the different methods certain countries around the world use while dealing with the Coronavirus 19. In it Mr Robert McKenzie says that he visited 3 different countries (Italy, Malaysia, and Hong Kong) and talked about the different ways people are dealing with the virus, ranging from unconcerned scepticism to paranoia and stoicism.

The coverage was not in the least informative, it usually featured panels of people shouting over one another, or interviewers who valued conflict over clarity.

In the article he describes how in Italy the people viewed the virus as little more than something like the flu (real name is Influenza) and overall this was fuelled by the country’s coverage of the Virus, which seemingly was limited to talk shows filled with people shouting at each other. I personally cannot confirm nor deny this account of events though looking back at how the government in Italy handled the situation I think there might be some truth to it. The order to have the northern parts of Italy locked down was leaked earlier than it should have been which meant that a lot of people fled the areas which would be affected and at the same time helped spread the virus further around the country, however this came after some of the different northern districts had already worked on down playing the whole situation. Still with the lockdown in place it seems that from then until now it has worked, with both the number of new infections being reported and the number of deaths happening slowly going down.

There are signs of hope: Even as the number of cases climbs, the rate of infection has started to slow under the nationwide lockdown. But Italy continues to answer for mistakes made before it took effect.

Mr McKenzie also visited Hong Kong where he said that before he was allowed to enter the country he had to go through a medical area because he had visited Italy, there they took his temperature and gave him information about the virus and how to avoid contracting it.

In all this process was clear, effective and quick: impressive.

Hong Kong has had at least 2 different instances where they have needed to deal with severe viral outbreaks in the recent past, SARS in 2003, and Swine Flu in 2009. I would argue that these two different outbreaks have in a way trained Hong Kong and its citizens on how to handle other outbreaks in the future. Still the problem is that each outbreak is different and therefore needs to be handled differently, which in turn means that just because certain methods worked with one disease, it doesn’t mean that it will work with another. At the very least Hong Kong has some basic groundwork in place for instances like these, which should help with the spread of the virus.

Ten years after the outbreak, apartment and office blocks still boast of how many times daily they sanitise lift buttons, hand rails, door knobs and almost all public surfaces. Masks are de rigueur if you have a cold, and a sneezing or coughing fit on public transport meets with disapproving glances.

During Mr McKenzie’s stay in Hong Kong he observed that the people generally wore masks everywhere they went, and only really took them off when they were eating, which is something I my self have seen and lived with in the past. The thought is that wearing a mask all the time will help prevent both the spread of whatever cold or virus is floating around at the moment as well as stopping people from getting infected by others. Whatever the thought behind people’s need to wear a mask is, it is effective to some degree.

My sense in Hong Kong is that people were not complying reluctantly, or with nationalistic pride, but rather with a steady sense of determination.

Lastly there is Malaysia, where life went on as usual, no questions asked and no masks worn, which not surprisingly didn’t help stop the spread of the virus. Though since Mr McKenzie’s visit things have changed drastically with a nation wide lock down enforced by the police, who are arresting those who do not follow the new regulations set by the government. This measure while some might consider harsh could be the best way to combat the spread of the virus, which is easily spread in places where many people come together such as churches and other places of worship.

A cousin took me to a Buddhist temple in Kuala Lumpur for lunch, where people shared long tables and took food from common pots.

All in all we all have different and sometimes conflicting opinions on what needs to be done about the virus, and there even are people who do not believe that the virus is even a real thing, though that might be something to be looked at sometime in the future. Not all countries reacted fast enough in my personal opinion and now are dealing with the consequences because of that, but I also think that some countries are reacting very strongly to the virus, I suppose that it simply depends on the people living within that country and how willing they are to help stem the rise in infection numbers. I am taking it quite seriously and am very happy with the response here in Malta, though it is not perfect I can at least say that the spread has been minimal at the moment. If people want to learn more about the virus and the spread around the world would highly suggest that you start with Wikipedia’s page on the situation, but don’t stop there, there most likely are better places where you can get more in-depth information.