The outbreak of corona virus (or covid 19) in the world has led to ordinary citizens (like me) being unsure if we should panic, or not. We hear from medical people that the virus is less serious than the influenza virus, really? if this is so, please tell me about any sporting event being cancelled because of the “flu” virus. Even the most ignorant of us realises that any disease, which causes the postponement of important public events worldwide, is indeed very serious.
In many parts of the world schools are being closed for a few weeks, to stop the spread of the virus. All sorts of public events are being postponed or cancelled. This I find very interesting, what happens after this period, does the virus go away like a good little virus, or, are we going to be at the same risk after this period. I have difficulty understanding how all these drastic measures are going to help in the long term, I can only think that the authorities are hoping for an “antivirus” to be developed rather rapidly.
In the mean-time I have been surprised at how subdued the normally noisy people in this country (RSA) have been. I would have thought that the “red brigade” would have long since blamed WMC for the virus, they might still. We may also hear that the virus is designed specifically to target people wearing red (which is why it started in China). Should the effects of this virus be as bad as expected, I dare say the government will find some way of blaming “apartheid”, to absolve themselves of any responsibility.
On a more serious note, the questions I would like answered, are as follows:                      1) Will this virus be with us forever from now on, or will it expire after a while?           2) People who have had the virus and then recovered, will they have immunity from being infected again? Will such people still be able to spread the virus?      3) If the virus is really less severe than the “flu” virus, why are such drastic measures necessary?
News just in, South Africa is also closing schools, banning travel etc. I think it is time we are fully informed as to the real dangers of this virus. People will use their imagination and decide for themselves what is really going on, the sooner we have full disclosure, the better.