WISE WORDS

The views expressed by eminent speakers at the ‘e-symposium — Confronting the Challenges of Covid-19:anewglobaloutlook’wereveryinsightful, someofwhichcouldserveaspointersforgovernment bodies and planners in tackling epidemics such as the one we are witnessing (“Experts call for collective response to Covid-19 crisis,” April 2, Gulf Today).

Professor Gulfaraz Khan’s observation, that while the scientific community is united against Covid-19 at one end of the spectrum, the lack of preparedness stands exposed, completed resonated with me. There is a mad rush today across the globe to put together a vaccine to combat COVID-19, but I fully concurwiththespeakerthatinternationalcommunity should have acted quick enough after the Chinese authorities identified and made the virus sequence was made available.

Prof. Maurizio Barbeschi also made a similar deductionofhowunpreparedtheplanetwasdespite having had a brush with the SARS epidemic, some years ago. It is a bitter pill to swallow but a lesson for world governments that a callous attitude translates into loss of lives by the thousands. I hope his advice of not creating groups of haves and have-nots, after the vaccine hits the market, is also taken seriously. He surely knows what he is talking, because invariably the poor bear the brunt of the lopsided policies.

It is sad when you hear heads of governments rubbishing the novel coronavirus impact, only to retract their statements when the situation got out of hands and were forced to come to terms with the death toll in the countries.

Hope the miniscule coronavirus teaches us how to bond as a community, which is the most effective anti-virus tool.

Ralph R By email