Saturday, May 2, 2009

More on the flu

I was not happy to hear Joe Biden being referred to as a dope, for his advice to the public on coping with swine flu. I agree with what he said 100%, and I feel sorry for those who are taking this situation lightly. Moreover, snickering at Mexico's health care system (as I have read from some North American online forums) is not a noble act. Feeling lucky over people's misfortunes is not admirable.

This is a global threat and we are all in the same boat. It is not the job of the WHO or local health agencies to keep us safe; we need to look after our own safety by being sensible citizens.

The suspected case in S. Korea has now been confirmed, and Hong Kong has its first confirmed case from a Mexican tourist. This morning, my heart twitched in reading this news: a number of Taiwanese tourists who shared the same plane ride with this Mexican tourist had just returned to this island.

Traveling inter-continently is going to speed up the spread of virus for sure. If I had the authority, I would shut down the air and sea ports, observe the situation for at least two months before re-opening them. Travel warnings to the affected areas are not going to stop the plaque. People should stop traveling to and from places for a while, just to allow the virus to be marginally contained.

Men and women are not almighty conquerors. In the midst of the global crisis, we should relearn to be in awe to what we cannot control and live in harmony with the nature and all creatures. We need to be humble.

4 comments:

  1. The good thing (maybe) is that a flu is supposed to decrease on summer. So here in Brazil, specially south Brazil, danger zone MODE ON. Yep. Also here is having a Yellow Fever thing, transmitted by a screwed up mosquito.
    Geez...
    Nature is really taking our lives so she can take a rest a little bit.

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  2. The world is going crazy because we as humans have abused the naure to break the eco balance. I agree with you totally-the nature indeed needs a good rest to recover, only if we give it and ourselves a chance to.

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  3. Hi Lori
    Not sure I agree with your level of concern regarding this. I think it will be less serious than people are making it out to be. Remember the bird flu scarce and SARS a few years ago? A few people did lord their lives from these diseases, but they didn't turn into the Hollywood style apocalyptic virus many were expecting. Am I being too optimistic? Time will tell, I suppose...

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  4. Well, I hope things will be okay for us all. Thanks, Roger.

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