Covid-19

The alarm over coronavirus seems to be on the increase as are the numbers affected. However those affected by Covid-19 world wide so far are comparatively few in number compared for example with those affected annually by infuenza.

Deaths from any ailment or disease are always tragic though thankfully children so far seem far less likely than those aged say  between 70 and 80 to suffer from the Covid-19 virus let alone die after catching it.

Diseases of previous years had a far greater impact on mankind; Polio for example handicapped many children for life though thankfully that ailment has largely been eradicated from the world. Small Pox was a dreadful world wide killer that affected young and old. Indeed I recall as a student when Small Pox broke out in Turkey, being compulsorily vaccinated and then required to leave the country by boat from Izmir to Cyprus, where fortunately,  the father  of the the friend I was travelling with, arranged with army friends for us to be accommodated on one of the military sovereign bases there.

I am not sure why face masks are so popular for Covid-19 either. Surely they are worn either, simply to comply with government requirements in for example China or because people believe that they provide added protection to those around them. The latter point would be important if true, which personally I doubt but how does one blow one's nose with such a mask on?

In England, the BBC have been broadcasting at length about a poor man from Haslemere who seems to have been afflicted from the virus from no known source.  

Obviously one has  has great sympathy for those who become afflicted by the virus but leaving the medical authorities to investigate, who (or is it which?) of an individual's contacts might also be afflicted, is surely best left to them? 

The BBC by broadcasting the Haslemere sufferer's  plight frequently, does in my view, simply add to the risk of panicking the rest of the population.