corona virus and the problem with the global institiutions
IMHO it seems that global, supra-regional, regional and local institutions are completely overwhelmed to handle the current corona virus outbreak.
Having this sensed more on a local level watching the actions or better non actions of our politicians I stumbled across the following Bloomberg article explaining the strange role of the WHO...
And I have to say I am absolutely horrified by the outcome and the non-action or stupid-action of those people we elected to take care of our loved ones and us.
It seems as if politicians are only expert in one field: to get elected and reelected.. everything else seem to be pure chance..
So at the start of this outbreak, politicians and health officials convinced us that they could contain the spread, no global pandemic would be imminent and the virus would be less dangerous than the flu and that western healtcare systems would be prepared for the challenge.
The current expert opinion is very very different:
1.) The virus seems to be 5 to 10 times more mortal than the flue
2.) The infectiousness is much higher than the flue
3.) There is no vaccine and no medicine and therefore also healthcare professionals are at risk to get infected
4.) All countries have different uncoordinated efforts to fight the virus leading to no effect at all
5.) The different countries seem to have a completely differing view about the risk of the virus spread vs. economic risk of subsequent contagion efforts .. hence no. 4
6.) There is a high risk that even western health care systems could be overwhelmed by an simultaneous outbreak at several hotspots
7.) No country has enough face masks, etc..
8.) Justified or not: There are already disruptions visible to the global economy by the restriction of global travel and trade
I fear that at the end we will have a second mutating and annually recurring disease that is even more dangerous than the flue and that our children and grandchildren will ask us how we could have been so stupid to let this all happen.
here is the article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-02-27/coronoavirus-why-the-who-won-t-call-covid-19-a-pandemic?srnd=premium-europe
Some countries have almost no central power, functional government or organized health system. Probably millions or dozens of millions will die, mostly in developing, poor countries.
This disease outbreak is really a thing of concern to the whole world. More worse is the fact that no cure is yet to be found and it keeps spreading from one country to another.
Heard it's reached Brazil and it gets me thinking, if a country like China with some much developments and technology could not contain it, how much more the developing countries?
Most global government organisations like UN and WHO are completely ineffective. They have never been able to make real decisions because there is never a consensus and leaders just try to protect their own political position rather than really do what is best for the world citizens.
However, many of us are now seeing the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis start to touch are lives. I work for a global company that has taken sensible measures to protect global employees, including travel bans, work from home policies in some areas and many staff in self-isolation.
We can't rely on global government organisaitons but hopefully sensible individuals and other organsiations can still make a difference by making sensible informed decicions.
It's second comment coming from you @awah that I'm reading today and I would like to invite you to check out our little community (solarwarrior is part of it). Perhaps you can find topics within our hive interesting to you :)
Link: https://steemit.com/trending/hive-175254
Cheers,
Piotr
It is something between regrettable and frightening to think that the organisms that, at least in appearance, were created to coordinate efforts for the development of better levels of health in the populations, turn out to be political nests full of inefficiency, more focused on the traffic of favors and promotion of interests of the pharmacological and medical industries, which in cultivating the conscience of people and establishing effective guidelines to prevent the spread of epidemics on a global scale.
I really fear the use of the media and politicians of information more than Coronavirus. I am writing to you from Italy where we are dealing with this virus which in the majority of cases heals on its own but in elderly people and with already serious health problems it can lead to death.I invite you to reflect on global data:
Latest WHO data (Source: Health Emergency Dashboard, 27 February, 06.00 CET) 👉83310 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) worldwide since the outbreak and 👉2858 deaths WORLDWIDE.
In my industrialized country and in the west, hundreds of people die each year from SEASONAL FLU. Be careful to use the information because they often generate disinformation and panic.😉
Your fear is absolutely justified @mikitaly
Thanks.
Those words have proven to be true in most cases. Politicians are increasingly failing the public, increasingly becoming incapable of delivering their promises. That said, a part of me believes that media sensationalism is also a major problem fuelling the Corona virus's deadliness. Regards.
Dear @solarwarrior
I was wondering how does situation with coronavirus impact you and your life so far? Do you think that upcoming economic disturbtions will affect you?
ps. WHO should be investigated after it's all over. It's hard not to have strong impression that leaders of this organization are corrupted and interest and lifes of regular people isn't what they care about.
Solid read. Upvoted already,
Yours, Piotr
Trust to institutions is dying. Which is absolutely not a good sign.
Resteemed already. Upvote on the way @solarwarrior
The Chinese media were not allowed to cover the virus. The Chinese were in denial of it and the west only got the information we knew from China. The Chinese government didn't have to get elected did they? The Chinese had to be quiet or lose big personally. Even though it hurt the country in the end, generally speaking a Chinese person lost more if that one tried to warn others in the end.
Theoretically it is really bad. Experts are saying its really bad. Time will tell if this means the housing crash you were praying for really comes.
Some time ago I read a criticism that was written in the manner of a Bad Joke, in which an extraterrestrial asked an abducted person "do you choose inept people to direct them? Why do they do that?"
It is something that is not funny, but certainly it is to think about it, there are certainly governments that have not used democratic mechanisms to take power, but it cannot be denied that in countries of democratic tradition we can find that elections are often a carnival of exemptions or things more passionate than rational, which has facilitated the rise to power of all kinds of "politicians" who proclaim Anti-Politics, Populism of the 21st Century or a simple and shameless looting of public resources in a corruption in Very badly concealed occasions.
In such circumstances, it is unfortunate, but I believe that the political caste is not interested in the issue of the epidemic because it still does not see how to take advantage of it, it is preferable that it explodes and is a situation in which they can activate emergency mechanisms and claim the recognition of his "Noble Actions protecting his People".
As for the children and grandchildren, what scares me the most is that if I compare my generation with that of my grandparents, I don't think we are more sensible or wise than they are, so I have serious doubts that our offspring are smarter that we ... In a horrible scenario of the future, I have even considered that they can be even more stupid than us and that will facilitate the treacherous, selfish and corrupt actions of the political castes of that time.
If only our politicians are good enough to worry a little bit about our well being and not just their pockets and stomach then we would have a better way to compact this virus.