CIVILITY AND SOLIDARITY IN THE TIMES OF A PANDEMIC
Since the discovery of the first case of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, the world has watched in fright as the diffusion of this virus throughout the world has escalated to an outbreak of considerable proportions. We are now in a state of pandemic and as this is a new strain of the disease we have to keep ourselves informed and alert on how to prevent the increase of cases everywhere.
In this modernized world the propagation of misinformation can also be very worrisome, so we should be aware of which news we listen to and not to panic at every new information we see as it can do more harm than benefit. To understand better what this disease is, what are the symptoms and bust some myths I recommend going to the World Health Organization website, they even have some very informative videos that may help you and Q&A’s with some of the most asked questions.
Here is the link to the website:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
What we do know is that the best ways to protect ourselves from this coronavirus (and other viruses) include:
Washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, using soap, hot water and hand disinfectant.
Avoiding close contact with people who are sick, sneezing or coughing.
In addition, you can avoid spreading your own germs by coughing into the crook of your elbow and staying home when you are sick.
There has been some misinformation as many believe that the mask will protect us from getting the virus but for the general public without respiratory illness, wearing lightweight disposable surgical masks is not recommended. Because they don’t fit tightly, they may allow tiny infected droplets to get into the nose, mouth or eyes. Also, people with the virus on their hands who touch their face under a mask might become infected.
People with a respiratory illness can wear these masks to lessen their chance of infecting others which is the most important and we have to bear in mind that stocking up on masks makes fewer available for sick patients and health care workers who truly need them.
In the end the only complete and utter certainty we know about this pandemic is that it doesn’t discriminate.
I does not matter where you are, who you are … At the moment we are all vulnerable. Some of us will do better mainly because of our age or health however it is because of this two aspects that we should reflect on those who are in fact at risk, such as the elderly or those with serious chronic medical conditions.
Among other things, it means we’re all in the same boat, for better or worse.
As spectators of what has been happening all over the world it is imperative that solidarity becomes our weapon of choice. As the pandemic progresses we see how panic reigns, and it is here we see the good and bad, the beautiful and ugly of the world.
Some choose to be survivalists, which will do no good … No one can deal with this threat in a vacuum. Of course we can and have to guard ourselves and our families, but even our best efforts are less likely to matter if our co-workers, our communities and our governments don’t do their part. Panic-buying has left empty shelves in supermarkets and pharmacies with people snapping up canned goods and toilet paper to weather the outbreak, stores and pharmacies have
fewer supplies left over to donate to the needy.
Empty shelves in Italy as panic buying escalates
In this modernized world the propagation of misinformation can also be very worrisome, so we should be aware of which news we listen to and not to panic at every new information we see as it can do more harm than benefit. To understand better what this disease is, what are the symptoms and bust some myths I recommend going to the World Health Organization website, they even have some very informative videos that may help you and Q&A’s with some of the most asked questions.
Here is the link to the website:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
What we do know is that the best ways to protect ourselves from this coronavirus (and other viruses) include:
Washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, using soap, hot water and hand disinfectant.
Avoiding close contact with people who are sick, sneezing or coughing.
In addition, you can avoid spreading your own germs by coughing into the crook of your elbow and staying home when you are sick.
There has been some misinformation as many believe that the mask will protect us from getting the virus but for the general public without respiratory illness, wearing lightweight disposable surgical masks is not recommended. Because they don’t fit tightly, they may allow tiny infected droplets to get into the nose, mouth or eyes. Also, people with the virus on their hands who touch their face under a mask might become infected.
People with a respiratory illness can wear these masks to lessen their chance of infecting others which is the most important and we have to bear in mind that stocking up on masks makes fewer available for sick patients and health care workers who truly need them.
In the end the only complete and utter certainty we know about this pandemic is that it doesn’t discriminate.
I does not matter where you are, who you are … At the moment we are all vulnerable. Some of us will do better mainly because of our age or health however it is because of this two aspects that we should reflect on those who are in fact at risk, such as the elderly or those with serious chronic medical conditions.
Among other things, it means we’re all in the same boat, for better or worse.
As spectators of what has been happening all over the world it is imperative that solidarity becomes our weapon of choice. As the pandemic progresses we see how panic reigns, and it is here we see the good and bad, the beautiful and ugly of the world.
Some choose to be survivalists, which will do no good … No one can deal with this threat in a vacuum. Of course we can and have to guard ourselves and our families, but even our best efforts are less likely to matter if our co-workers, our communities and our governments don’t do their part. Panic-buying has left empty shelves in supermarkets and pharmacies with people snapping up canned goods and toilet paper to weather the outbreak, stores and pharmacies have
fewer supplies left over to donate to the needy.
Empty shelves in Italy as panic buying escalates
However as we have seen many times a common struggle is what makes community possible in the first place. This to say that there has been a big wave of solidarity between our communities and initiatives to help those who need them the most.
In Austria, for example, a group of schoolchildren launched an initiative on Instagram and Twitter in which they offer to go grocery shopping for people in their area who are at risk. In Germany, people have formed Facebook groups to coordinate similar efforts in their neighborhoods.
In Spain neighborhoods are creating schedules to help raise the mood of those in quarantines such as doing aerobics on their balconies and helping each other be more positive about this situation.
And Italy of course which is right now one of the countries suffering the most has found some joy in music with people coming together by singing on their verandas and applauding the doctors, nurses and medical assistants who have been working nonstop to help those in need.
Italian woman singing in her balcony for other neighbors
It is in these small actions that we find relief from what has now become our new day-to-day life, it will be hard to adapt to the quarantine but we have to believe that if we do this then the quicker we can return to our routines and hug those we most love.
“Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.”
-Sara Ahmed
“Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.”
-Sara Ahmed