Peter Espeut | More and better particulars

The advice given to us Jamaicans to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is that we should wash our hands often with soap and water, and that we should blow our noses in tissue and then trash it. I am not satisfied with this advice. What happens to the tissue infected with COVID-19 after we trash it? Can’t it infect someone else?

We are told to disinfect surfaces like worktables frequently, because the virus is long-lived. Does that not mean that it will remain alive and dangerous in our trash baskets and cans? Aren’t domestic helpers and sanitation workers at risk?

Sanitizers will kill the germs, but if I wash my hands with soap, does the virus persist in the water?

And in the middle of water lock-offs, is washing our hands in a basin helpful? Won’t some of the infected water remain on our hands?

SHARING INFORMATION

In my view, the public is not being given adequate information.

I live in Bull Bay, and I know people who attended the same funeral (last Saturday) that infected person number one attended. Some of them went to their own church the following day. Shouldn’t they all self-quarantine for 14 days just in case?

Those who are investigating the case know the situation; they need to give advice particular to the actual situation.

We can fight this – and win; but we need more and better particulars about what to do. I believe that all Jamaicans – even criminals who are normally disruptive – will take appropriate and effective preventative measures, if given the appropriate information.

We say that the COVID-19 virus is new. Where does this new virus come from? We know it first was detected in China, and has spread from there. Some of you may remember that, in 2002, the SARS virus – another new virus – also first appeared in China, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). What is it about China that causes new viruses to appear?

Conspiracy theories abound that new deadly organisms developed for chemical warfare “get weh”; but there is no evidence that this is true. Fake news abounds!

What the scientific evidence suggests is that these “new” viruses are not new at all, but exist in nature, living in the bodies of wild animals. The Chinese love to eat wild animals, and to use their body parts in folk medicine preparations.

The SARS virus is thought to have jumped to humans in 2002 from a wild animal called the“civet”.

EARLY INFECTED

Dozens of people infected early in the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus worked in a live-animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and the source is thought to be a wild animal called the “pangolin” (the scaly anteater), much sought after for its use in Chinese folk medicine; further research is needed to confirm this. These animals are rare and endangered, and trade in these species is forbidden by international law.

We all would be much better off if we would protect our wildlife threatened with extinction, instead of killing them and eating them. That includes turtles and crocodiles. In some circles, the spread of this new coronavirus is being called “The Revenge of the Pangolins”.

HERBAL CURES

I am amused at how quickly our herbalists develop and prescribe cures for these new viruses like chikungunya, SARS and COVID-19, even before they reach our shores. Clearly, their remedies are more spiritual than pharmacological. Yet, people are quite willing to put faith in them. I understand that “frequent sexual intercourse” is one of the recommended remedies for COVID-19. If you believe that, you’ll believe anything! Fake news abounds.

We are not going to beat this disease using home remedies, obeah or myal. Well-informed best practices – good personal hygiene – and a good dose of common sense by one and all, are what is required.

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and an environmentalist.