President Trump was called xenophobic by the New York Times after he banned direct flights from China in early February because of the COVID-19 virus.
The Times went on to tell people in New York to attend the Chinese New Year celebration to spite the President and show support for China by hugging people, and tens of thousands did. How did that work out for New York City?
An interesting statistic is that in Italy and my old stomping ground South Korea, 70% of the deaths from COVID-19 were men 65 and older. Women make up 50% to 51.38% of both nations, so why such a high percentage of men dying off? Science has formulated a few theories. Men that age smoke more in those nations and women do have a natural immunity to some types of viruses; however, we just do not know what we do not know. The studies will go on for years after the pandemic has subsided and we may get answers, or not, theories or best guesses may be the best science can do.
A good example of not knowing what we just do not know is the current belief that ibuprofen exacerbates the symptoms of the COVID-19 virus; that is based on a very small sample of patients in a hospital in France and based on anecdotal data. Does it hurt to go with acetaminophen instead of ibuprofen? Not at all, and I would err on the side of caution, but it is not a scientific fact. Science is always evolving, and a good scientist always keeps an open mind.
Nearly 9 percent of the reported cases in Italy end in death; keep that number in mind and protect others by protecting yourself.
Stay safe, protect others and use common sense. Always err on the side of caution during this pandemic; we have bold folks and old folks, but during a pandemic we have fewer old, bold folks.
The picture is of a basic mask we glued together in under 15 minutes, we cut a slit on the inside layer of cloth and a filter can be added. A simple filter can be made of a paper towel sprayed with anti-virus or even soapy water, let it dry put it in between the cloth layers and it will help. The ties are an old shoelace. Is it 100% effective? Not even close, but if nothing else it will help keep you from touching your mouth or nose. There are plenty of directions for making masks on the internet. If you wish to make a mask, please do not take any chances because of the mask; use the same caution that you would if it was not there.
Dr. Mehmet Cengiz Oz, a gifted surgeon and TV personality, stated on March 27 that people should not wear a protective mask, as that takes them away from the folks in the health care system. It is not patriotic to wear a mask, OK. His comment predisposes that you and I are using N-95 paper masks made in a factory, masks that would be used in a hospital/lab setting.
I totally agree with him; priority of those masks must be for health care folks. Dr. Oz went on to say that masks only protect others from you, but do not totally protect you, OK. So, what is wrong with protecting others, if you do not take away from health care providers? Damned if I know.
Again, a home-made mask is not perfect, but do we ignore the good because it is not perfect? Even if a basic home-made mask only protects you to 10 or 20 percent, why not use it? Even if it only keeps you from touching your mouth and nose when out, why not use it? If it signals to others please keep a social distance, why not use it?
So, to all the good folks let me say, do not get upset over what we can’t control. We all need to do our part, follow the latest instructions, be supportive of others, and this too will pass. Once again, keep a journal and have the young ones keep one as well; it will be good to keep a bit of family history.
