WHO and COVID 19

I have been watching the news regularly on TV. It is surprising that the WHO can make misleading statements one after the other. They are funded by the Nations all over the world and are expected to provide guidance and solutions on health issues.

First they said there is no evidence that the virus is transmitted from human to human. It started in China and was spreading. The fact that it was spreading indicates that there was human to human transmission. Like most people at that time, I did not think much about it because it was happening far away in China. There is no free press in China and we cannot expect to get reliable information from there.

The second misleading statement from WHO was that there should be no travel restrictions. If every country had imposed travel restrictions early on, the situation would be much better today.

The WHO also said that the common people should not be wearing masks. They said masks are for health workers.

Now, the WHO insists that testing for the virus is the most important step in controlling its spread. They want mass testing. For a country like India with a population of more than 1.3 billion people it is impossible. We do not have the resources to do that. At present only those with symptoms are tested. Those that test positive have to be tested again and again. When they are cured, they are discharged only after two negative test results. So a person who tests positive will require about four more tests.

The WHO also seems to think that those who test negative are in the clear. There is no guarantee that a person who tests negative today will not turn positive tomorrow.

KERALA FLOODS 2018

When the floods began children were happy. Schools were closed. They could play in the rain and water. As the rain started to increase in intensity the floods became more widespread and water levels began rising causing damage to farms and houses. Dams were almost full. Water had to be released from the dams which added to the problem. More than 300 people died in the floods. Many wild animals would have died too.

Some people were stranded on roof tops. Power supply was cut off in most places. Without electricity, life became difficult even for those not affected by the floods. Their only means of communication is the mobile phone which needs to be charged. Rescue teams from the army helped to get people to the safety of relief camps which were set up by the state government. Local fishermen came in their boats to lend a helping hand.

Some houses were swept away due to landslides. Some were under water.  As the floods recede and people go back to their houses they will find most of their belongings damaged by the dirty water. Cleaning up will require a lot of effort. Most of the household appliances will have to be replaced. Meanwhile people have been warned about the potential spread of waterborne diseases and advised to take precautions. Most parts of Kollam district, where I live, were not really affected by the floods. So, I was fortunate to have escaped the ordeal. All I saw was some puddles around my house.

THAILAND CAVE RESCUE

When I first heard the news about some boys trapped in a cave in Thailand I was not so interested. I thought it was a small incident. I did not expect a cave to be so deep. Only later did I know that the boys were several kilometers deep inside the cave. They had gone deeper to avoid the water flooding the cave due to the heavy monsoon rains. When divers located them and the boys were shown smiling on TV, I felt more concerned about their safety. Now there were faces to relate to. Those boys had survived without food for about two weeks and had to drink water from melted ice. Yet they were smiling.

 

Divers had a difficult task bringing the boys out safely. Some parts of the cave were very narrow and only one person could go through at one time. Fast flowing muddy waters made visibility low and there were sharp rocks that added to their woes. The boys did not know diving and their oxygen tank had to be carried by a diver. The boys were sedated so that they would not panic under water. Divers from Thailand and some foreign countries were involved in the rescue attempt. Sadly, one Thai diver died in the rescue attempt. Within a few days divers brought out all the boys and their coach safely. It was inspiring.

US ELECTION - 2016

I remember watching the first Republican Primary Debate. There were so many candidates. I looked at all of them before they started speaking and thought that Rand Paul looked better than the others. When they started speaking I liked Rand Paul because he said he will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. People started calling him an isolationist and he lost support and had to drop out early.

I knew Donald Trump would be the centre of attraction because he is some sort of a celebrity. I liked the fact that he had a similar view regarding intervention in other countries. He said there will be no more ‘regime change’, that he would not topple the governments in other countries. I read his book ‘The Art of the Deal’. In it he says he makes controversial statements just to get into the news. It is a strategy. He sees it as free advertisement. He says even bad publicity is good because people come to know about you. He had to spend much less on his campaign because of all the free publicity. He played the media and hogged the limelight. He could brand his opponents ‘Lyin’ Ted’, ‘Crooked Hilary’ etc but none of them could brand him. The media were totally biased against him and lost all credibility. They seemed to think that their experts are the only ones who understand what happens in a debate and that the people have to accept their decision on who won the debate. People have brains, they can watch a debate and understand what the candidates say and decide who won. They don’t need any experts to decide for them.

People usually think about their own interests. If I was an illegal immigrant in the US, I would support Clinton because I would not want to be deported. If I was an American who lost a job because manufacturing went overseas, I would support Trump because he says he is going to bring those jobs back. Since I do not live in the US, the issues there do not concern me. The issue that bothers me the most is the war in Syria. The West armed the rebels and created a civil war there. So many people are dead, injured, homeless and fleeing the country. Clinton’s plan for Syria was to take on Russia, the Syrian government and ISIS. Trump’s plan was to work with Russia and the Syrian government to defeat ISIS. Trump’s plan is better. Some European governments are now trying to convince him not to work with Russia. That would only prolong the war.

Trump’s victory was a surprise for many people. Nobody knows what kind of a President he will be. Only time will tell.

CHILE - Mine Rescue

It was amazing to see the 33 trapped miners being brought up, one by one, in a rescue capsule on live TV.



These men were trapped 2000 feet underground for 69 days in the San Jose mine near Copiapo, when a tunnel collapsed on 5/8/10.They spent 17 days in isolation, rationing meagre supplies till drillers located them on 22/8/10 and provided a lifeline to carry food, water and medicine.


It took another 52 days for engineers working round the clock to drill a shaft with space enough to bring them up one at a time in a specially designed capsule.





Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was on hand to ensure the workers got what they needed.











When the last miner came out on 13/10/10, there was a feeling that this was mankind’s greatest feat since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.