Covid Rising Everywhere!

MOSCOW IS HIT AGAIN! 

The number of infected from Covid-19 rapidly rises

By Stephen Wilson

                   

 

"Only two weeks ago I was speaking to a friend who is a businessman based in New York. He had returned to Russia. He is about 55. He told me that 'All this Covid 19 is just an invention. It is all fake. It is no different from flu. I will never be infected by this virus.' I told him it was not so because I myself had experienced it and it was one of the worst illnesses I had ever gone through.' Later I heard that he had contracted the virus and was lying in hospital in a very bad condition. He could hardly speak or raise his arms. He was on emergency support and receiving oxygen. It was a great shock. I had just invited him to my home when I learnt of this," stated the businessman Alexander {Not his real name} whose whole family had come down with the sickness last Spring.

Alexander told me that in the wake of this pandemic practically all his business activities have ground to a halt. Since many of the borders still remain closed, Alexander can't go on a vital business trip to America to make an urgent financial transaction. When he speaks to colleagues in India he receives the same news of how everyone is under strict rules and can't do much business. At the moment, Alexander has been making sure both his parents in laws, who have become sick, receive adequate treatment. He had a difficult time persuading his father in law to go into hospital.

"I told him that it was a necessity. Twelve days had gone by and he was still ill. When I phoned for an ambulance they told me, 'We only take patients in who have a very high temperature.' I phoned other telephone numbers listed but they never answered. After a lot of time I succeeded in finding a good hospital which specialized in this virus. I managed to get him admitted. I told him, 'Gather your belongings and get ready to come with me. You are not going to get any better staying at home.' It was difficult but he finally agreed to come with me. I have seen more ambulances on the roads than usual. When I got to one hospital the security staff all informed me they had been reinfected by this virus. "

 

When I opened my window to let in some fresh air I was greeted by the relentless restless ringing of sirens. The stillness of the dark night was violated by this dreadful wailing. I closed the window and tried to get back to sleep. But while we sleep, this virus certainly doesn't! The latest news indicates the number of people infected has shot up dramatically. According to the latest figures, 15,000 were infected in a day. And the figure keeps remorselessly rising. Perhaps as many as 40,000 or more Russians have died from this virus. The hospitals are finding it daunting and difficult to cope with a flood of new cases.

 

The Mayor of Moscow seems to be exasperated by what seems to be a lax and laid back attitude to the virus where many people stopped wearing masks and went out to overcrowded resorts in Sochi or the Crimea. When I was travelling in the metro two weeks ago I noticed only about 50% of passengers were wearing masks. At present, I observed that the figure had approximately risen to 70%. This is still less than the over 90% compliance during last Spring. When I went to buy a mask from a metro station, a security man at the barriers politely told  me, "You have to put on a mask and gloves before travelling," and allowed me to buy one from the cashier. Masks at metro stations are only five rubles. So I felt a fool having bought one previously at a kiosk for 35 rubles!

 

The local government have responded by escalating a massive publicity campaign to persuade people to wear masks and gloves. Posters declare 'Wearing a mask doesn't prevent you from seeing , speaking and breathing. It saves lives'. But those words won't persuade a hard core of people who deem such measures an infringement of their personal liberty and sneer at others for being 'too conformist'. Therefore, the government is likely to take sterner measures. At present, people over 65 and those with chronic diseases such as diabetes must remain at home, and companies must ensure as many as 30% of their employees work on-line from home. Anyone not wearing a mask in a shop can be fined 4000 rubles, a small business can be fined 40,000 rubles and a bigger 100,000 rubles or more. And it seems that school children from the first and fifth year will be forced to study on-line from home. They had been put on an extended October holiday for two weeks. However, already many teachers at schools and institutes are operating on-line. One of the most controversial measures is the proposal to order students at universities to teach primary school children on-line instead of older and vulnerable teachers. The students have responded differently to those proposals. Some greet it with enthusiasm. Fifth year chemistry and biology student Ksenia Panina stated - 'I'm glad to accept this opportunity. Next year I finish university and this represents an enormous experience, and training before I 'm sent to full scale work.' However, not all students welcome such 'practice'. Some see it as irrelevant to their trained vocation. Dmitri, whose training is in the field of physical rehabilitation, sees no use of such an experience. Harder words come from the chairman of the Union, Teacher, Vsevolod Lukhovitskii. He states - "The problem is that local management think that anyone can be a teacher, and arrange for you to be a teacher- and go and teach a lesson. But a student is not a teacher". He states while this experience might be useful for university students, but it is not good for pupils.

 

One of the problems with introducing on-line lessons is that often both parents are working and they can't look after children or ensure that their kids are present at those on-line lessons. Many parents don't have the time or the resources to supervise their children. Giving up or taking time off their work is not always an option.

 

There has been much talk about the development of a vaccination against the virus in Russia. Alexander got a call from his father who lives in Germany as to whether he could receive the vaccination and whether he could send him it. Of course, this was just impossible. Alexander told me -"Taking this vaccination is not as straightforward as you think. I know of two families who took those vaccinations. You have to take one vaccination and then after 21 days have to take a second one. During the time before and after the first vaccination you must go on a strict diet which means not eating fatty foods, drinking alcohol or working. You have to be fully relaxed. If you don't do this the vaccination won't work. I know that three members of one family who took the vaccination tested positive after the first vaccination because they never followed the rules laid down by the doctors. Only the mother avoided the virus. After that, only if you test negative, you are allowed to take the second vaccination".

 

A return to a full scale lock-down in Moscow can't be entirely ruled out or at least the implementation of more drastic measures. The number of infected doesn't appear to be stabilizing never mind falling.

 

Despite his tribulations, Alexander can see the funny side of things. Once when he went to buy coffee the staff stopped him and politely asked him to wear a mask and gloves. They then asked him to wear his mask properly by covering his nose. After that he tried to pay for coffee using his smart phone. However, in order to carry out this transfer of money his phone has to monitor the user for face recognition. But by wearing his mask, the device didn't recognize him.  If you press a button with a glove, it also doesn't work. He was in a catch-22 situation!  So he asked the shop assistant, "Can I just take down my mask for one second so that I can pay for this?" The shop assistant agreed and Alexander was allowed to attain his cherished coffee. And after this experience, it tasted sweeter.