Virus, heat and dosh
Covid-19, so far, has snuffed out about 90,000 lives and landed more than 1.53 million people in hospital, around the world. Scientists have not yet been able to figure out exactly how the virus spreads. It was thought, at the beginning of the pandemic, that coronavirus transmission occurred through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing, but medical experts now believe that patients could spread the disease by simply speaking or breathing. With hindsight, we now know doctors erred, at the initial stages of the global health emergency, by discouraging people from wearing facemasks. That precautionary measure should have been encouraged, from the word go, though panic buying caused a shortage of facemasks because asymptomatic cases account for 25-50% of coronavirus infections, according to American medical experts.
It is popularly thought that people living in tropical countries are less susceptible to Covid-19 than their counterparts, in cooler climes. Hope is said to spring eternal. Those living in the northern hemisphere are reportedly expecting coronavirus to fade when that part of the world gets warm. But there is bad news for those banking on warm weather to neutralise the resilient virus. The US National Academy of Sciences has, in a report, informed the White House that various research reports it has reviewed do not offer any clear forecast of what would happen to the coronavirus spread, in the summer, according to the New York Times. Besides, Iran is one of the countries badly hit by coronavirus, which has carried off nearly 4,000, there, in spite of hot weather.
Meanwhile, people may practise physical distancing (wrongly called social distancing, which, sociologically speaking, has the potential to tear societies apart), in keeping with the internationally accepted health guidelines, but never do they maintain any distance between money and themselves. Coronavirus is able to survive on paper and metal surfaces for hours, we are told, and money can be an ideal medium, through which the elusive germ can spread fast.
A person who tests positive for Covid-19 and those who have associated with him or her get isolated, but the money that passes through their hands continue to circulate, carrying the virus and infecting others. People usually don’t wash their hands after handling money, do they? Thus, some people may be carrying the dangerous virus in their pockets, wallets, handbags, etc. Curiously, no serious effort is being made to disinfect currency notes and coins. Only a few banks and other financial institutions care to disinfect paper money, we are told.
It is the expert opinion that the use of plastic money should be encouraged, during the present crisis. But, in this country, some businessmen charge a fee for credit card payments. This practice amounts to the exploitation of customers, but credit card companies and the state institutions responsible for protecting consumers have chosen to ignore it. So much for the promotion of plastic money.
It is said that while the Buddha was trekking, through a village, with Ananda Thera, one day, he pointed to something and called it a venomous snake. The latter looked in that direction, saw some money lying on the road, and nodded in agreement. Hardly any sybarite dislikes money, much less considers it a snake, venomous or otherwise. But, the question is why, in the present context, dosh is not at least considered a medium of viral infection.
Covid-19, so far, has snuffed out about 90,000 lives and landed more than 1.53 million people in hospital, around the world. Scientists have not yet been able to figure out exactly how the virus spreads. It was thought, at the beginning of the pandemic, that coronavirus transmission occurred through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing, but medical experts now believe that patients could spread the disease by simply speaking or breathing. With hindsight, we now know doctors erred, at the initial stages of the global health emergency, by discouraging people from wearing facemasks. That precautionary measure should have been encouraged, from the word go, though panic buying caused a shortage of facemasks because asymptomatic cases account for 25-50% of coronavirus infections, according to American medical experts.
It is popularly thought that people living in tropical countries are less susceptible to Covid-19 than their counterparts, in cooler climes. Hope is said to spring eternal. Those living in the northern hemisphere are reportedly expecting coronavirus to fade when that part of the world gets warm. But there is bad news for those banking on warm weather to neutralise the resilient virus. The US National Academy of Sciences has, in a report, informed the White House that various research reports it has reviewed do not offer any clear forecast of what would happen to the coronavirus spread, in the summer, according to the New York Times. Besides, Iran is one of the countries badly hit by coronavirus, which has carried off nearly 4,000, there, in spite of hot weather.
Meanwhile, people may practise physical distancing (wrongly called social distancing, which, sociologically speaking, has the potential to tear societies apart), in keeping with the internationally accepted health guidelines, but never do they maintain any distance between money and themselves. Coronavirus is able to survive on paper and metal surfaces for hours, we are told, and money can be an ideal medium, through which the elusive germ can spread fast.
A person who tests positive for Covid-19 and those who have associated with him or her get isolated, but the money that passes through their hands continue to circulate, carrying the virus and infecting others. People usually don’t wash their hands after handling money, do they? Thus, some people may be carrying the dangerous virus in their pockets, wallets, handbags, etc. Curiously, no serious effort is being made to disinfect currency notes and coins. Only a few banks and other financial institutions care to disinfect paper money, we are told.
It is the expert opinion that the use of plastic money should be encouraged, during the present crisis. But, in this country, some businessmen charge a fee for credit card payments. This practice amounts to the exploitation of customers, but credit card companies and the state institutions responsible for protecting consumers have chosen to ignore it. So much for the promotion of plastic money.
It is said that while the Buddha was trekking, through a village, with Ananda Thera, one day, he pointed to something and called it a venomous snake. The latter looked in that direction, saw some money lying on the road, and nodded in agreement. Hardly any sybarite dislikes money, much less considers it a snake, venomous or otherwise. But, the question is why, in the present context, dosh is not at least considered a medium of viral infection.
