Most countries in the world report cases of coronavirus. Russia and countries in Africa, for some yet-to-be-explained reason, have fewer victims. As of March 27, there have been 85,356 cases of COVID-19 in the USA and 1,246 deaths. That’s why The New York Times headline reported the inevitable U.S. VIRUS CASES TOP THE WORLD. The state with the fewest victims is South Dakota, and New York has the most. Both Dakota states has experienced at least one death.
There have been 2,519 deaths from COVID-19 in Iran, which has had more than 35,000 overall cases. News reports say that almost 12,000 Iranians have recovered in hospitals. At the same time Iran has recently experienced 2,197 cases of methanol alcohol poisoning from drinking and 244 deaths. Iran! Ironically, a top cleric Hadi Khosroshahi, who blamed Trump for the COVID-19 virus, has died from it. A recent report said that 25 Iranian politicians and officials have been infected.
In a related new event, the Olympic games scheduled for Tokyo have been officially postponed until 2021. Whether the death of Iranian discus star Ehsan Haddadi, an Iranian national hero since becoming an Olympic champion, influenced this decision has not been speculated on. Yet. That China has sent medical aid to Iran to combat the virus, however, has been officially acknowledged.
John, our Australian friend, has sent us some more information about what Australians are doing to reduce the chance of getting COVID-19. In the “why not try it?” realm of thinking that suggests things to try that are both practical are doable, he says that this virus hates heat and dies if exposed to temperatures greater than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, hot drinks like broth and tea and coffee should be consumed regularly during the day and cold drinks and ice water should be avoided. The mouth and throat should always be wet and never dry. It’s recommended that everyone sip water every 15 minutes. This is certainly a good idea, easy to do, and might help. Even if the virus makes it into your mouth, it might get flushed down to your stomach where gastric acids can destroy it. This virus, he reports, survives on hard surfaces for up to 12 hours so avoid touching hand rails, door knobs and the like. Don’t touch anything that gets lots of public use. This is especially good advice on a cruise ship, an industry that has been severely impacted and might never recover from the COVID crisis. “This virus” John says, “can survive on your hand for only about 10 minutes, so touching your face or rubbing your eyes are to be avoided for now.” This is good advice but hard to do.
Since there are so many voices out there telling us what to do I have decided not to write about COVID-19 again unless something happens to change my mind. In the meantime, if the United States is like other nations, we are about to experience fewer new cases. This will make the above New York Times headline old but still historic news.
Hank
PS Ruth thinks the bear above is still the perfect rep for what all of us in isolation feel. I prefer the shark.
Security Conscious 