Post 14: the consequences of the current health crisis

We are living a crisis. A sanitary crisis which as spread worldwide.
And 204,431  have died of the disease, (the coronavirus known as well as the Covid-19).
Due to this disease a lot of countries are in lockdown.
According to this information, human beings had to change their way of living. They no longer can travel, exit their home. Today we are going to ask ourselves in which way the coronavirus is infecting our lives and manner of living. We are going to see that the coronavirus as an impact on many systems and activities created by human beings like the politics or sports.

The first impact that we are going to talk about is in the economy. If we take the example of a seller, we can noticed that he has known a fall of his clients because in many countries the people are in lockdown, and they can't buy as they were buying formerly the seller's products. So in order to gain money the sellers have decided to increase the price of goods, services and commodities to a level much higher that is considered reasonable or fair. This consequence is called price gouging.
But because we are humain beings we have needs, for instance we need pharmaceuticals supplies and food. And that might be a problem. I explain myself, due to the Covid-19 people are buying a lot of antiseptic gel, paracetamol or any medicine that can treats any sickness. So the world has known a supply shortage of pharmaceuticals.
Otherwise, since the 2008 financial crisis the Covid-19 has been the biggest decline of the stock market. We can justified that with for example firms that no longer produce, so this leads to a decline of commercial trades.

The second impact that we are going to talk about is in the events. Due to the coronavirus all the events such as global conferences, events across technology, fashion and sports have been all cancelled. For instance, the Soccer International European competition has been postponed. Also the JO have been postponed ton next year.

The third impact would be in the political world. But we are going to see that it hasn't only bad consequences.
Firstly, we are going to talk about China. Then the bond between China and Italy and finally USA.
In China, some provincial level administrators of the communist party of China were dismissed due to their bad decisions in the handling of the quarantine efforts in central China. So they are half responsable of the death or the unwealth of the people.
The epicentre of the Covid-19 is in Wuhan in China, so logically it is the country which firstly lived the outbreak. It also means that is the first country which have overcome the disease. Doctors in China are the best to know how to handle the disease, and that being said, they have told the doctors in Italy how to manage to take care of the good wealth of the population.  Even if Italy is a country in which the Covid-19 have stricken the most in Europe they now have more knowledge on how to handle this disease. So I reckon that it is a good consequence in the way China has showed
solidarity. Finally in USA, Donald trump said to his people that the coronavirus will not affect the people in the United States, which is a lie because they have many cases of death or unwealth of the people. Will he be elected again for the next presidential elections?

The fourth impact would be in the education. Schools and Universities have closed. According to UNESCO, on march 25, 165 countries have closed their educational infrastructures, infecting over 1,5 billion students worldwide. This leads to a change of the manner to give classes. Now teachers and students are connected via internet and they communicate like this.

Finally, the fifth impact would be the unemployment. The international Labour Organization predicted  a 6,7 pour cent loss of jobs hours globally in the second quarter of 2020, equivalent to 195 million full time jobs. They also estimated that 30 million job were lost in the first quarter alone, compared to 25 million during the 2008 financial crisis. In march 2020, more than 10 million American lost their jobs and applied for government aid. This leads to a decrease of the economy and also the people who find themselves in this situation are now surviving with the little that the government gives for buying the necessary. Like the food and the pharmaceuticals. But for example in Spain the government doesn't give money for the people without an employment and that being said a lot of people are starving and maybe seek.

To conclude, we, human beings have to change our way of living. We are dependent of the coronavirus And we are living a big crisis that has an impact in our modern society. But when we will overcome this disease will we be able to have more careful with the food we are eating or our hygiene?

Post 13: a message to TL LVA bloggers

chloroquine

Chloroquine is a drug used to treat malaria. It is being explored and tested as a possible treatment for the novel coronavirus.The chemical formula of chloroquine, a synthetic substance, is C18H26ClN3. Chloroquine is sometimes abbreviated as CQ. A derivative of chloroquine is hydroxychloroquine.While malaria is caused by a parasite (transmitted by mosquitoes), chloroquine has proven effective in treating SARS, a disease caused by a coronavirus closely related to the one that causes COVID-19. That’s why chloroquine is being tried out as a treatment for COVID-19.Other drugs being considered for COVID-19 are remdesivir (GS-5734) and lopinavir/ritonavir.

COVID-19

COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus. The disease was discovered in China in December 2019 and has since spread around the world.COVID is short for coronavirus disease. The number 19 refers to the fact that the disease was first detected in 2019.The technical name of the virus that causes COVID-19 is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, abbreviated as SARS-CoV-2.

epidemiology

Epidemiology is the branch of medicine dealing with the incidence and prevalence of disease in large populations and with detection of the source and cause of epidemics of infectious disease.An epidemiologist is a person who studies or is an expert in epidemiology.

immunity

Immunity is the state of being immune from (“protected from a disease”) or insusceptible to a particular disease; the condition that permits either natural or acquired resistance to disease.

isolation

Isolation is the complete separation from others of a person suffering from contagious or infectious disease.In public health, isolation happens when a person is infected with a communicable disease, and is separated from people who are healthy. This helps stop the spread of disease.Self-isolation is voluntary isolation. Note that everyday people may use self-isolation when they aren’t infected and are social distancing.

quarantine

Quarantine is a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.In public health, people are placed in quarantine when they are not currently sick, but have been or may have been exposed to a communicable disease. This helps stop the spread of the disease.Self-quarantine is when someone isn’t ordered to go into quarantine but chooses to do so out of caution; also called voluntary quarantine.

respirator

A respirator is a masklike device, usually of gauze, worn over the mouth (or nose and mouth) to prevent the inhalation of noxious substances or the like.To help protect them from COVID-19, health professionals wear respirators to filter out virus particles as they breathe in so they don’t get infected and can help patients. For these professionals, the CDC specifically recommends using what are called N95 respirators, which fit more tightly around the nose and mouth than medical or surgical masks.Respiration is breathing, the inhalation and exhalation or air. Respiratory means “pertaining to respiration,” as in a respiratory disease like COVID-19.

social distancing

Social distancing refers to measures that reduce contact between large groups of people.Social distancing measures often entail canceling big gatherings (such as conferences, classes, church services, concerts, and sporting events), restricting mass transit and travel, and working from home.The CDC specifically recommends maintaining a distance of 6 feet (2 meters) between people.During the coronavirus outbreak, people commonly spoke or wrote of hunkering down at home as they practiced social distancing.

virus

A virus is an infectious agent that replicates only within the cells of living hosts, mainly bacteria, plants, and animals.Viruses are composed of an RNA or DNA core, a protein coat, and, in more complex types, a surrounding envelope. They are ultramicroscopic, 20 to 300 nanometers (nm) in length. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Viruses are also metabolically inert, which is why they only can replicate themselves in cells of living hosts.COVID-19 spreads through droplets from the mouth and nose of a person with COVID-19 after coughing, sneezing, exhaling, talking, etc.

symptom

Symptom is a phenomenon that arises from and accompanies a particular disease or disorder and serves as an indication of it.Major symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, dry cough, fatigue, and difficulty breathing.

Post 12: Spaces and Exchanges - Exchanges in real Spaces and Virtual spaces: two cartoons

 How far is the boundary between real and virtual spaces  becoming increasingly blurred nowadays?

Nowadays there is a mixed opinions on the subject Real Spaces and Virtual Spaces. On one hand, people do a lot of things in their home. Like teleworking, buying clothes, objects via internet, and they don't really enjoy traveling anymore. On the other hand, people who want to travel and discover by their own eyes what the world is made of. But how far is the boundary between real and virtual spaces and is it  becoming more and more blurred nowadays? 

To help us respond to this key issue we have two cartons. In the first cartoon we can see a man looking at a sign saying "welcome eco tourist, why travel?, add to pollution, stay at home and visit exotic travel web sites!" Of course the man is only walking so he doesn't contribute to pollution but the sign is not only made for him but for all the people. People, who travel by car or plane.

In today's society, Internet has  a ,major place in our daily lives. Sometimes so intrusive that we loose  the sense of reality, doing everything that we could possibly imagine thanks to internet such as traveling but also read, watch a movie, meeting friends and so on. Nevertheless, if the first cartoon is defending the environment we must not forget the most of the component used to let us have/use this big invention is not environment friendly: high consuming of energy and lithium.

The second cartoon, is the reflection of what most of us are obliged to do, due to the extreme and unexpected situation worldwide. Thanks to internet, our lives go on and that allows us to continue ourlives as it should be: studying from home; working.

But. don't forget that once everything will return to normal; hopefully the sooner; it would be essential the reconnect to interact face to face.