Coronavirus: wake-up call!

NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE PERMANENT CHANGES

RISKS ARE ENHANCED WITH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

The outbreak of the Coronavirus has inflicted a serious, economic, health and confidence crisis on the world. While the crisis is not yet over, it does seem to have plateaued in many countries. It is likely we will see cases for several months in the future. There are definitely huge opportunities to learn from this experience. 

With modern technology, we now have the ability to monitor people entering airports, schools and other places of close human contact. There is no reason why we should not refuse entrance to these places to people with indications of high temperatures, not just the fear of epidemics, but also general quality of life. This could have a positive impact on world health. 

Allowing people that are sick into the close confines of an airplane is really stupid.  It would be an inconvenience  to be sure, but it would be in the best interest of society.

We now advise parents to keep their children home if they are ill, it should be a mandate not an advisory. Society can quickly adjust to this new standard.

Corporations are obsessed with meetings, flying around the world for meetings often of several hours. With modern communications, it would be safer and more economic to replace many of these meetings with video conferences.

This Coronavirus was ongoing for several months until revealed to the world, if notice could have been quicker many lives and much suffering could have been avoided. More cooperation in identifying areas of concern should be a priority. 

I am sure experts in infectious disease could add more possibilities to protect society. We should take their advice and raise the standards around the world.

This Coronavirus is a serious illness, but in the world of communicable disease it is far from what is possible. There are disease's now in existence with mortality rates of over 50%. Actually much has been done to monitor these outbreaks and much progress has been made. With the increase in International travel, the risks are also higher.

While we concentrate on accidental transmission of disease, we should not forget that there are people willing to blow themselves up to make a political statement. We should assume these people are taking notice of the chaos caused by the threat of a pandemic. It is likely only a matter of time until this type of terrorism is added to their playbook.