Don’t panic, its only nCov

THE panic mode being seen and felt in Pangasinan over the novel Coronavirus 2019 (nCov) is visible. The supply of face masks in towns and cities has been running out for days. Obviously, the media hype on the nCov led to the gross misunderstanding of the virus. It did not help that all forms of information, mostly fake news, are quickly shared on social media.

What was horribly missed is the advisory for the Department of Health that face masks should only be worn by persons who are suffering from a bout of cough and cold that makes the person sneeze in public. Persons without these need not wear face masks.

Why? We are told nCov is not airborne and is delimiting, meaning it can only be transmitted physically if contact is made with the person positive with nCov and the things the person touched.

The only single important protection to be remembered is for all to wash their hands constantly because a virus can be picked by a person by touching door knobs, car handles, bottles, clothes, touched by an nCov carrier.  Contaminated unwashed hands of the person that touch the face transmit the virus to the person.

An important safeguard that should be adopted is to recommend to all neighbors and relatives who recently arrived from foreign travel to seek testing in a hospital equipped with a nCov test kit.

Also, the knowledge that nCOV hardly survives under hot temperature can make Pangasinan with its extensive coastline a much safer place.

 

Trump triumphs

DONALD Trump remains President of the United States after the Senate, as expected, voted to acquit him on February 5 of the two impeachment charges leveled against him by Congress.  On the “obstruction of Congress” issue, Trump won by 53-47.  On the “abuse of power” argument, Trump triumphed by 52-48 as Sen. Mitt Romney became the lone Republican to cross party lines.  The Constitution provides that Trump needs 2/3 of the 100 senators’ votes to escape conviction, becoming only the third President to be impeached by Congress but acquitted by the Senate, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.  The Democrats have one last chance to expel Trump out of the White House: Work for his defeat when Trump seeks reelection in November.  But will they succeed in swaying the American people into rejecting Trump, whose popularity has even swelled to a record high in the run-up to his acquittal?  Go figure.

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