Can we all breathe easier knowing that the World Health Organisation has officially “characterised” the COVID-19 outbreak as a Pandemic?
Perhaps not?
The term “Pandemic” describes the geographically, widespread nature of a disease (fear and greed being excellent examples) but, it does not reflect in any way, the severity of the disease.
“Epidemic” is similar insomuch as, it too, does not reflect the severity of the disease but the speed of propagation within a population (e.g. “panic-buying”)
I suggest that Pandemics were far less common when it took 6 months to travel from Australia to Europe across the High Seas if an Epidemic on the vessel didn’t get you first…
We are also just discovering how long we have been living in a global “Petrie Dish” (Thanks for that one Craig!) -thanks largely to the commoditisation (and speed) of global travel..
It’s all become largely academic. These terms have become conflated, manipulated and overused and are now synonymous with the very worst scenarios the media can imply and subsequently, humankind can envision.
In response:
Governments will “give” money to Business and qualified individuals and drop interest rates even further to stimulate spending (a “gift” that taxpayers will be required to repay later).
Some of the beneficiaries may even use the windfall for its intended purpose, but unlike Kevin Rudd/ Wayne Swan’s Feb 2009’s post-GFC gift spent by many on Chinese-manufactured big-screen TVs, these may be more difficult to come by this time around…
Who knows! With a bit of luck Australia may follow the lead of the President of The United States and get Payroll Tax waived altogether!
Meanwhile, as global hysteria rages like an Australian, East-Coast Drought/Bushfire/Flood…..:
- Stock markets tumble, (if I were a Taxi Driver I would be telling everyone to “buy the dip” because as we like to believe, “What comes down, must go up!”)
- “Tourism” has a new meaning : “Leisure travel activities undertaken between the front and back door of your own home”.
- Supply chains atrophy or break as they endure the “pincer movement” that comprises exponential, categorical demand (e.g. toilet paper and pasta) and workplace isolation initiatives that impede the loading of “stuff” onto trucks!
- Inferior handy-towel pressed (or wiped) into service as toilet paper, blocks sewerage plumbing and treatment plants (and apparently contributes to “Fatbergs”! Yuk!)
There’s a boom-time coming for Plumbers!
Whilst there is no known vaccine for COVID-19 at this time, an old-fashioned ingredient found in the original recipes for Tonic Water –“Quinine” was used to treat malaria victims and synthetic stablemate, “Chloroquine” has been trialled in China with positive results.
Due to the bitter taste associated with the quinine, the clever British Colonials chose to mix it with Gin (presumably to make it more palatable) and such was the origin of the modern “Gin and Tonic”
So, based on the phrase “A little learning is a bad thing..”
Courtesy of Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
“A little learning is a dang’rous thing;
drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring (mythical & metaphorical Macedonian “spring” of knowledge of art and science):
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
and drinking largely sobers us again.”
..I’m off to Dan Murphy’s (no affiliation) to panic-buy up all stock of “Fever tree”.
Then I’ll head over to JB HiFi with my 3-tonne armoured, van and a bunch of cheap credit to bulk-buy-up big on Chinese 75” OLED TVs (reasoning that it’s a “perfect storm” for upgrades from the “Soooo 2009” 55” LEDs) …….
Finally I will kick back with a G&T or two and hedged against COVID-19 by that sweet, sweet Congolese, Cinchona-tree bark extract , I’ll wait for the toilet paper to roll in…..
Keep an eye out for me on ebay…..
P.S. I welcome any feedback, content suggestions, quotes, entertaining images or other contributions.
I will run the copy by you before including it in the mail-out -with full credit!
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I know I can survive rejection as I did when, in anticipation of a cancelled Australian Grand Prix this weekend, I received no response to a Corey Worthington-style, 100 random FB invitations to attend a “Heavy Breathing Intensive” at mine.