March 2020
It is at times like these that our humanity is tested. It’s painful to see people fighting over toilet paper in countries across the globe, as the world panics over potential grocery shortages. Voices calling for calm and reminders to ‘Be Kind’ are falling on deaf ears.
The majority of people who are stockpiling (lets face it, hoarding) are focused only on their own needs. Herd mentality has definitely kicked in, with people at supermarets interviewed stating “well,you see other people doing it so you think you need to too”.
On an unrelated topic, the main picture accompanying this post is a bottle of elusive hand sanitiser, which I’m dangling for sale to the highest bidder (only serious bids please, if you’re not offering your first born or signing over deeds then don’t bother).
In all seriousness, I urge my fellow humans: if you are picking up supplies (a reasonable quantity of what you need only) then please expand your hearts to include others. If local communities pull together we can better protect everyone.
You can call on your elderly naighbours and ask if they need anything. There are a number of Facebook groups co-ordinating volunteers to help out in their local communities. If you have a local Mosque, Church or other community group then please contact them and offer to help. In some parts of London mosques have begun enlisting volunteers to distribute food and supplies to the elderly.
Stockpiling (what’s the above about?)
Panic buying in the UK has created empty shelves in multiple supermarkets where, most notably, antibacterial hand gel, handwash, toilet roll and pasta have run out. Some retailers have started to limit the number of these products that shoppers can buy to five, four or just two per person. When I started writing this blogpost I had pictures of a few empty shelves in big supermarkets; now I have to report that in some supermarkets entire shelving units are empty. In one evening I saw Asda, Aldi and Tesco had run out of pasta, flour, hand gel, handwash, babywipes, cotton wool, long-life milk, most sizes of nappies – and much more. Deliveries are being received to top up shelves but items are being sold as soon as they are unloaded. Aldi, which has some stores receiving deliveries and unpacking overnight, reported people queing at 7am in anticipation of their 8am opening time.
One thing I will say about London is braveness in the face of adversity. This isn’t the first crisis and nor will it be the last so I hope people will follow the lead of some amazing examples and pull together rather than thinking of only themselves.
How did Cornovirus originate?
It is currently widely reported that the virus originated in a wet market in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. A wet market is where live animals are freshly killed and sold to the public. Animals that are carrying viruses are able to spread to humans but according to one report, typically, there would need to be a number of animal to animal transmissions before a human was infected. A wet market is the perfect storm for this to occur as animals are often held in cages one on top of the other. As animals in the upper cages bleed, excrete or dribble fluids downwards, the fluids come into contact with other animals below, thus creating a chain of transmission. It is possible that a market worker came into contact with an animal carrying the virus and from that person, multiple others were infected.
Other Theories
There are also other theories that say Covid-19 is a manufactured virus – a wild coronovirus cut with a lab-created disease that enables easy human to human transmission. Why would the virus be deliberately created (and deliberately spread)? I’ll leave you to look at other sources on the internet for suggested answers to these questions.
There are several interesting films that show the spread of viruses including Contagion from 2011 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/ IMDB summarises the film as ‘Healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a worldwide epidemic as the CDC works to find a cure’. Starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law. Bear in mind, these are movies and not necessarily reflective of what is happening around us, or what’s coming, but they are certainly on topic.
Whatever the cause, it’s a bad situation (fear, fighting over supplies, disease and death) and its happening on a global level. Funny, I always thought the end of the world would involve more locusts? Oh wait, that’s happening too in Africa, Iran and Pakistan to name a few places https://ifpnews.com/billions-of-locusts-swarm-southern-iran
What can I do to protect myself against cornovirus?
Good hand hygiene and tissues when sneezing or coughing. I can also see a benefit to people strengthening their immune systems by eating well, sleeping well, excercising and possibly taking a multivitamin if they feel they have a deficiency. The reasoning for this is if you become infected your body needs to be strong to fight off the virus. Many people have now recoved fully from Covid-19 and it’s because they were healthy. Of those who have died, reports indicate the majority had underlying health issues (a multivitamin isn’t going to cure this level of poor health of course).
Other than this, wash your hands carefully and consider using your hands to help others as well as (for those like myself who believe) raise them in prayer.
ThelondonAuthor