THE CORONAVIRUS – SOONER OR LATER ... Be prepared for the outbreak of political hysteria too
With the sudden coronavirus surge in Italy and the first reported deaths in Europe, also in Italy, these have thrown people into a great panic. Italy is on our doorstep but the reality is the panic should have started from Day One when the virus was first announced in China.
For Malta and Gozo, the whole world is our doorstep. Thousands travel to and from every week, of all nationalities, from all over the world. Products pour in from all over the world. The Grand Harbour and our Freeport greet ship crews and passengers from all over the world and if there is one place that is certainly NOT isolated it is certainly not the Maltese Islands.
Mata took precautions from the first day and has assiduously followed instructions by the World Health Organisation. Now that it has flared in Italy, the precautions have been stepped up. Incidentally, the Italian “sudden” flare-up leaves a number of questions – such as there were probably cases before but not reported.
We have to face reality – it is inevitable that we will soon have our first case, sooner or later. The hysteria has already started via the shoal of geniuses that clutter up the social pages with wise guys critically reporting that “Malta has done nothing” and “better late than never”.
When the first case is reported, expect a battery of political hysteria and as everything in Malta finally descends into a political barrage, be in anticipation of a forecast outburst of hysteria by the Opposition Nationalist Party whose standing is so low they will cling onto every straw to try and gain political capital – Daphne Caruana Galizia murder style.
The PN will say the Government should resign for allowing the virus to penetrate Malta (tipo stupid claims that DCG’s death could and should have been prevented);
Jason Azzopardi et al will say the Health Minister has to shoulder responsibility and resign.
Recently the PN came out with the absurdity that Joseph Muscat’s Government was purposely allowing elderly people to die to decrease Government expenditure. This is another “manifestation” of that!
A PN Delegation will call on the President to ask for the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Abela because it is his entire fault.
The PN oriented media will naturally back up all these claims by saying Carnival should have been cancelled, schools should have been closed and a whole battery of feigned reasons.
The simple fact is that we are part of the modern world, we are not special and we cannot isolate ourselves away from the rest of the world.
Simply enough, I could have been at Brussels airport and brushed against another passenger who had just flown in from London and who brushed up against a person at Singapore airport who had just returned from China. This may have caused my being infected but on return to Malta no symptoms have started to show.
Two weeks later, the symptoms become manifest.
It is as simple as that. So, be ready and be prepared and be prepared for the hysterical outbreak that will surely follow.
ALBERT FENECH
