Sir, – It is sometimes said in leadership circles that “no good crisis should go to waste” and, in this albeit Machiavellian vein, the current Covid-19 “pandemic” (official or not) is surely a great emerging opportunity.
Rarely do threats arise which grip so many people’s attention as firmly as this venomous new virus, as it strikes unpredictably around the planet. So far, we have seen dramatic global economic costs (caused primarily by fear of the disease), as well as dire health consequences for thousands of people affected by outbreaks in China, South Korea and Italy, especially.
But, as the health systems in Europe and elsewhere track the progress of the “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2), the novel virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)”, and as they learn, prepare and adapt their responses, there is now the prospect of a “blessing in disguise”, too, in the form of people returning to the “self-care” regarded as normal by their grandmothers.
The re-emergence of the notion of “etiquette” in terms of coughing (into one’s elbow or a quickly binned tissue), washing one’s hands frequently with soap and water while singing the universal anthem “Happy Birthday” (twice), and keeping one’s (“social”) distance for the duration of the “disease season”, is to be warmly welcomed, as such rituals are likely to reduce the incidence of most transmissible diseases.
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Add to these revived hygiene habits, the idea that a visit to the doctor or emergency department should only be undertaken if “self-isolation” at home, with fluids, rest, dollops of honey, lemon, and over-the-counter painkillers (even, dare I say it, a nip of brandy or its equivalent) fail to alleviate symptoms, and you have a prescription which could significantly ease the existing burden on our struggling general practitioners and hospitals.
And as for all those parked cars and airplanes? One can only imagine the relief on the face of Mother Nature. – Yours, etc,
Dr CHRIS LUKE,
Consultant
in Emergency Medicine,
Adjunct Senior Lecturer
in Public Health,
University College Cork.
Sir, – So, we are all being told by our betters that we should not panic, and that we should not indulge in hysteria. Well, perhaps we are not. Perhaps we are asking reasonable questions and the only recourse to which our betters have to rely on is the usual hugger-mugger and bland avoidance of the difficult questions.
Our betters have had no difficulty in telling us that a person who has the Covid-19 virus has presented herself for investigation and treatment.
Fair credit to the person concerned.
Our betters have also told us that the patient travelled from some place in Italy to Dublin by aircraft and that she then travelled on to some place in Northern Ireland.
They have not told us what flight the person had travelled on and yet, they are, they assure us, engaging in tracing the persons who were on that flight.
Nor have they disclosed to us how the patient travelled to her destination in Northern Ireland.
The journey from Dublin Airport to Belfast takes about two hours if one travels by bus or train. This is comparable with the time taken for the flight from some hitherto undisclosed airport in Italy to Dublin. Yet, by some magical process, passengers on the train or bus would appear to enjoy an immunity not available to the aircraft passengers.
While some of our betters have expressed the view that a minimum of 15 minutes of contact with an infected person is necessary for the transmission of the virus, yet they also tell us that the virus can be transmitted by coughing and sneezing. A 15-minute sneeze?
All that has to be done is to tell us exactly how and when the patient travelled to her destination. There are now many hundreds of people who travel by bus or train to and from Northern Ireland. One or more of these passengers may also be infected and is in danger of infecting others.
Better to deal with this while there is still time rather than to wait and see.
But then, that is what our betters are good at, waiting and seeing – until we have every reason to panic. – Yours, etc,
PETER KENNY,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Tens of thousands will arrive on hundreds of flights from Italy before March 7th.
Are rugby fans particularly pestilential? – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY,
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.
Sir, – A letter writer asks (February 28th) if there is any evidence that face-masks give any protection against viruses. Yes, they do.
If he is wearing a mask, he is reducing the likelihood of pathogens from his own nose or mouth from being released into the environment around him. The mask also reduces the number of times that its wearer directly touches their nose or mouth. – Yours, etc,
JUSTIN DEEGAN,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – I see that the coronavirus advice the authorities are giving out is to “wash your hands and avoid hugging, kissing and hand-shaking”.
Just as well that the election is out of the way! – Yours, etc,
BERNIE O’REILLY,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – In March 1962, the rugby international between Ireland and Wales was postponed due to an outbreak of smallpox in the Rhonda valley in Wales. The match was played on November 17th, 1962, and resulted in a draw.
Even then we took outbreaks of viruses serious. – Yours, etc,
DICK CUSACK,
Dublin 18.