Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 10:25 Leo Olivero

In the book “The Deadliest Enemy Our War Against Killer Germs” written by infectious diseases expert Michael Osterholm. Among many other issues explained, the book exactly predicts the outbreak of a virus from China, the Coronavirus in fact, the one we are all battling with today. I forgot to mention, the book was written in 2017. Which is remarkable, when you think about it, particularly, how the world today has been turned on its head since we welcomed the new year in and this virus from China!

Coronavirus Will Reach Tipping Point – But Time Will Judge Response

From a Gibraltar perspective. Apart from one or two missteps, which is mostly the case everywhere else. But whatever, measures are introduced or otherwise. It is an impossible task to please or convince everyone, that the action taken in the national interest, are the correct ones.

Only one judge, will determine if enough of the right measures were in place…TIME!

The latter said, Gibraltar’s preparation to combat the virus, could potentially, soon be reaching tipping point!

The crux of this important procedure, is good contingency planning, which must comprise of a government-wide disaster preparedness planning for the possibility of a mass outbreak of the epidemic, affecting all parts of our built-up, and mostly densely populated small nation of ours. Here, is where I concur with the views already expressed, that similar plans elsewhere, like in the UK, may not be suitable, possible or even desirable for us.

The focus now, is clearly, on how best to delay the spread of the coronavirus. The first or initial countermeasures were widely advertised, like, people should wash their hands thoroughly, cover their mouths when sneezing to the most recent instructions released yesterday, on the ‘new criteria for self-isolation’.

We are living, through some extraordinarily dangerous, and at the same time strange times. The world is facing a massively huge crisis. Unprecedented, in the sense, that it effects one and all. Never has such a threat been so widespread, where countless of millions are today potentially affected. With a similar fatal count predicted.

Germs (or Contagion) like a Coronavirus Need No Passport to Enter Countries

There cannot be many people, living today, who can remember times of any great plague. Though history informs us, of periods when diseases like polio, cholera and even flu epidemics were experienced as a global medical threat. Readers will also remember the AIDS threat of some 20-odd years ago or so. But nothing like this.

When in the past, epidemics have spread, they too hurtled across nations. The reason for that, is of a biological nature, as germs need no passport to enter countries, they never have!

Infectious diseases, as we are witnessing before our eyes, have the terrifying effects to disrupt everyday life on a global scale, uprooting and devastating public and private resources, and bringing trade and transportation to a thumping halt.