Travel bans may have hampered world’s fight against Covid19

[reader]

From South China Morning Post

• The global health body warns that targeting travellers from infected areas may discourage countries from reporting outbreaks and delay the arrival of medical aid
• Some analysts fear that countries which attempted to restrict movement failed to use their time to prepare their health systems to cope with Covid-19

After decades of experience in dealing with global disease outbreaks as deadly as Aids and Ebola, the World Health Organisation has forged a series of guidelines on how to deal with epidemics. Most countries are now ignoring them in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

It has specifically advised against imposing travel bans on countries with Covid-19 outbreaks and warned that international restrictions can be “ineffective” during public health emergencies.

The WHO says such actions can discourage countries from timely reporting of outbreaks if the result is economic and social disruption, while experts say it can also delay medical aid.

“Why we’re concerned about these outbreaks is the direct and immediate loss to human life and making sure that is limited. But it is also about the functioning and stability of societies and their abilities to have a long-term response to both health and economic needs,” said Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health programme at the non-partisan US-based Council on Foreign Relations.

Bollyky also said that these targeted travel bans could distract governments from making the necessary preparations for the arrival of disease.

“Clearly some countries relied on this without taking all the domestic measures that needed to be done to prepare for the outbreak, and that’s tragic.”

An unprecedented number of travel constraints are now in place around the world as countries scramble to deal with the spread of Covid-19, after failing to prepare for its arrival after it broke out in China almost three months ago.

Continues at

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3075640/how-ignoring-who-guidelines-and-relying-ineffective-travel-bans-may-have

[GWMinUS]

This time I fully agree with Readers post. The worst example is the USA and President Trump's assessment of the threat. So here we are behind the curve on testing and medical preparations. My Partner and I are both over 70 yo and have "sheltered in place". Avoiding going out except to the market to buy food. But it is very boring. I am watching Boy Love Vids from Thailand. And he is writing Web Site Code...  

[Londoner]

I understand but at least you have a partner with whom you can  share difficult times.  I am thousands of miles away from mine, with no chance of seeing him for months. And anyway, for many people in our age group, isolation has its own problems when it comes to mental health issues like loneliness. Some are desperate for company.

[Guest]

Hang in there.

Remember:

1   This will have cleared one way or another by 2021, if not sooner

2    People have put up with much worse.    This is not like 1939.    Or living in Syria or Afghanistan etc.      Cultivate resilience.  

      I hope that's taken the right way (I listen to Charlie Munger too much, but this helps me).

3   We're in the era of free calls, video chat and so on.