EDITOR, The Tribune
Viruses are older than human existence. In 1918 we had the Spanish flu which infected 500 million and killed 20 million to 50 million people. We had the SARS outbreak of 2002 to 2004. It infected 8098 and killed 774 people from China, other Asian countries, the UK (4) and Toronto, Canada. In 2014 the Ebola outbreak killed 11,315 in 5 African countries and the US. So why wasn’t the world prepared? Maybe because it was not profitable because they occur over a decade apart, but that can change.
For Caribbean countries it’s like a Hurricane. Its time of impact is uncertain, but unpreparedness means death.
All countries, capitalist, socialist and communists are unprepared. The US has more cases of Covid-19 than China about 4 times its population. The worst prepared country in the world is the United States because its health care system is profit driven and the most expensive in the world. It is the only advanced nation that has such a system. Europe, UK , Russia, China, Canada, Japan have a healthcare system that’s government driven.
I think that the shutting down of the economy will not stop the spread of the pandemic. A lot of people are poor and cannot self isolate. They must hustle food or they will die. I use South Korea as the model. They are at work. We need to test everyone and then quarantine the infected. Everyone wears a mask to work and practices proper hygiene. Take in a lot of vitamin C from oranges, etc. Let‘s be sensible.
Every mouth must be fed. This current method will lead to social upheaval like what is starting to occur in Italy or worse.
BRIAN E PLUMMER
Nassau,
March 30, 2020.
Comments
BiminiRick 4 years ago
First, let me say that I think U.S. medical care is far superior to rationed socialized medicine in my opinion. Regarding your letter, the major flaw is your reliance on statistics provided by the Chinese Communist Party regarding the numbers of infected and deaths. There is substantial evidence that the numbers they have provided are mere fairy tales. It is China's authoritarian state that suppressed reportage of the initial outbreak and, in cahoots with the World Health Organization, downplayed the severity of the outbreak. These officials allowed the festivities in Wuhan to go on unhindered and spread the virus throughout the world. The U.S., and by proxy, The Bahamas and the entire Caribbean would most likely not be in this predicament if China had addressed the issue at its onset. I also agree that there must be solutions short of shutting down the entire economy of a nation. Unfortunately for us in The Bahamas, THAT DECISION was made by other governments. Our reliance on tourism means that those decisions will continue to be made by others for the foreseeable future.
joeblow 4 years ago
... the absence of a free media in China makes it impossible to believe any stats that come out of that country! Online trends are showing that even Chinese citizens are suspicious of the reports coming out of their own country!
sweptaway 4 years ago
China stacked up body's like cord wood but you will never know!
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years ago
And they are still secretly stacking up thousands and thousands of bodies as a second wave of their Red China Virus sweeps through every densely populated metropolitan center in Communist China.
Porcupine 4 years ago
Bimini Rick, The US health care system sucks. What don't you see in the complete failure? Health care for profit, where a vast majority of people struggle just to pay health care costs. Half of all bankruptcies are due to medical bills. Fighting with insurance companies just to get needed treatment? Yes, medical care in the US is "superior" for those who can afford it. The US spends way more than any other country in the world on healthcare and has less than stellar outcomes. The vast majority of Americans would prefer single payer universal health care, as polls show. Now, ask yourself why it can't happen. There should be no profit in healthcare. None. Abolish the insurance companies. They produce nothing of value for society.
lobsta 4 years ago
The sad thing is that medical care isn't even superior to those who can afford it. On average it is inferior to the top systems in Europe. Anyone who had treatment both in the US and Europe will be able to attest to this. The reason why this comes up every time, is because the US attracts top talent by it's sheer size and wealth. Yes, you are going to get world class treatment, but only in specialized fields.
Porcupine 4 years ago
To most Bahamians, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Orlando, and what they see on TV is the whole of the US.
tetelestai 4 years ago
This is not true, Porcupine. No need to insult Bahamians just because, in this instance, someone has a different view point than you.
sheeprunner12 4 years ago
Preach …………… The US airs all of its dirty laundry to the world …….. and it is funky right now ……….. Don't hear this coming from Canada, hey???
SandyE 4 years ago
Hum, Yes the US has learned a lesson. This administration in it's second term will no doubt see to it that it doesn't happen again.
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