Apocalypse Postponed Until Further Notice
We are living in interesting times. No doubt. The emergence of a certain little bugger a mere couple of weeks ago hasn’t contributed to improve the general situation or individual moods, either. Yet hope need not be abandoned by all ye here or anywhere. Yes, we are “at war against an (almost) invisible enemy”. This was the good news.
Why would it be good news to be “at war”? Well, we are aware now that we all are (potentially) under attack. There is no more need to tread softly in order to avoid diplomatic calamities and personal animosity.
And we eventually realise that we are all in the same boat. This “enemy” is not going to acknowledge conventions of warfare or arbitrarily single out particularly vulnerable targets. Literally everyone is game, and negotiations of peace will be futile.
Only a week ago, half of Europe was piqued at the Trumpster’s announcement to close borders for visitors from Europe. Today, every head of government refusing to take similar measures would be accused of serious negligence. This is the bad news: Compared to senior European politicians, Mr Trump suddenly looks like the stable genius he believes himself to be.
We are eventually forced to think for ourselves, because we realise that we are not living in cloud cuckoo land. Well, some still do, but this will change soon.
Corona Is Not the Ultimate Challenge
Covid–19, affectionately called “Corona”, is not our ultimate challenge, though. Granted, it is quick, not visible to the naked eye, and far superior to us in numbers. But it is only a virus, after all (and quite obviously, it is not remotely as virulent as Ebola nor does it appear to kill as quickly as the Spanish Flu used to). Our ultimate challenge will be to overcome our established thinking patterns, especially the idea that the individual is above society.
I hear people, even experts, say “it’s a situation we have never had before”. That’s true, except that it is crap (if you are inclined to pardon my French). Yes, some of us have never personally experienced a pandemic disease and most of us were not even born when the worst pandemic flu ever recorded in human history took place. But to pretend that we have no strategy or tactics handy to get going, is to admit that we’ve spent the past hundred years in an intellectual vacuum.
We are humans, supposedly a rational species. We do have options. We may consider our actions and plan carefully, we have experiences and information to learn and draw conclusions from, and we are able to act according to our knowledge (or so the story goes).
If I’m not completely mistaken, there have been four or five pandemic flus since the infamous Spanish Flu of 1918 — not to mention other highly contagious diseases that could be stopped from spreading in the nick of time. Statistically, that’s one pandemic per generation. But we still pretend to be caught off guard?
Unlike us, a virus can only react. So why don’t we stop mimicking the “adversary” and let common sense prevail (for once)? Let’s stop focusing on the problem and turn to get to the solution. Let’s prepare the battleground to our advantage.
Viruses are much better at reacting and adapting to changing situations than we are, because it is their only chance to survive. They may reproduce wildly, but only if we let them dictate the rules — if we keep merely reacting, in other words. Yet if we take reasonable action, it’s us who dictate the rules of the game.
This is our backdoor to “hack” the virus. Yet so far we have done nothing much to knock it down. Quite to the contrary, we are still doing our best to fight ourselves. Let’s not just react — most importantly, let’s not overreact — let’s set controlled action.
The 1 Meter Rule Has to Be a Joke
I don’t mean to contribute to panic, but what exactly is the “1 Meter Rule” supposed to achieve — except suspicious side glances? With all due respect, this is a policy for policy’s sake — a placebo, if ever I saw one.
This virus is transferred through droplets of moisture expelled upon respiration; it is airborne. Unfortunately — because we actually never had this particular strain before, and therefore have no means to compare figures — we don’t know yet for how long the virus may survive outside its host, but it is reasonable to estimate that it won’t degrade fast enough for anyone to safely enter the area where the droplets have been expelled within the period of time one takes to cover one meter by foot. Seriously, people. If the virus were that vulnerable, we would have never heard of it.
Either this, or I have to assume that willingly exchanging body fluids with perfect strangers is common practice in Wuhan and elsewhere (which I honestly doubt).
Consequently, to be somewhat safe, one would have to wear a moisture proof mask that well covers mouth and nose and protective goggles, which are either thoroughly disinfected upon returning home or, perhaps even better, boiled in water at 70° Celsius (158° Fahrenheit) for several minutes.
Stop Panic Shopping!
Panic shopping is generally a pointless venture, but the way it has been done in recent days defies description — and all logic. It’s reactionism at its worst. The more shops we buy out, the more people have to travel around to get at least the bare necessities to endure the coming days and weeks (and a possible quarantine). This is not controlled action, but an unreasonable reaction in disguise. These people may consider themselves smart, but I tell you this is inconsiderate and short–sighted beyond words.
The logical consequence is, we help spread the virus by proxy, because the more people travel (if only from supermarket to supermarket) the higher the probability to infect others (so they are already infected without knowing it) or to contract the virus (so they are still uninfected).
The secondary effect of panic shopping is that suppliers will also have to travel more than usual, which further favours the spread — directly (from person to person) but also indirectly (from person to surface or surface to person).
To some extent, I do understand why people start hoarding toilet paper; it may be used in a variety of ways and is considerably cheaper than handkerchiefs and kitchen towels. (Just wait another month or two, though. Then, you will have to give your firstborn for a single roll.)
Buying disinfectants by the gallon makes much less sense, though. If you stay at home for at least a fortnight, you are at equal odds already carrying the virus (or are exposed to it because someone in your family is infected) or not. If you don’t stay at home, you have no serious way of telling how or by whom you will contract it. Either way, you will not need more disinfectants than usual.
Stocking up on staple food and everyday products is reasonable, but buying five or ten times your usual supply of olive oil (to name but one example) is only good for the manufacturers of these commodities. If a litre of olive oil (to stick with this example) usually lasts, say, a week, buying three litres for a two–week quarantine is still reasonable, but ten litres are not. Such behaviour only leads to immediate bottlenecks in the supply chain — and eventually more panic.
Buying food with a long shelf life makes sense — especially if these foods are known to be very nutritious — such as legumes (e.g., beans, lentils, peas) but also rice and flour, because you can use these to prepare a wide variety of meals to ensure a balanced diet. Dried fruits are also a good choice, as vitamin supplements but also as a snack in–between.
Every kind of frozen food (steaks, French fries, seafood, etc.) is biological waste within a matter of hours, if your freezer happens to break during your quarantine or you happen to suffer a power outage. The same goes for most processed food that needs to be stored well below room temperature. The border closures do not include such commodities, so stop that nonsense already.
If you are not an accomplished cook, buy processed food that can be stored at room temperature and some that can be cooked or, if all fails, may also be consumed uncooked.
One of the inevitable consequences of persistent panic shopping will be an eventual rationing of food and supplies by the government. This cannot possibly be in anyone’s interest, because it would make an already tense situation still worse.
Stop Feeding Profiteers!
Another (practically) inevitable consequence of such unreasonable “preparations” is the emergence of crisis profiteers. The first signs could be observed after less than a week into the national shutdown. The other day, the supermarket I usually frequent got a fresh delivery of minced meat. That in itself was not unusual — the amount they received was spectacular, though. I don’t believe anyone outside a slaughterhouse has ever seen so much minced meat in one place.
This is, of course, the epitome of obtuseness. Catering to a non–existent need is wrong in more than one respect. First, these products have a short expiry date. Second, they can only be safely stored under protective conditions. And last but not least, this type of oversupply is fuelling another wave of panic shopping. And the vicious circle will remain unbroken …
People will grab whatever they can get their hands on without thinking whether or not they actually need the particular product. This will cause the manufacturers and suppliers to raise the prices. Rising prices will lead people to panic even more. And governments will have no choice left but to ration food in order to stop speculators and to maintain the basic supply of the population. Then, you will have an empty wallet and an empty stomach, but still a virus.
Yes, Corona is a serious virus. But if we continue to react blindly and so undermine our own defence, it will be the least of our concerns before long.