After hearing a gut-wrenching recount of a friend who was tested positive for #covid19, I knew I had to write a post on the importance of #kindness and #compassion.
Don’t get me wrong, the medical care which the friend and the family received was not the issue (they said the team that cared for them were heroes <3). It makes me sad to say that it was the people around them. Mind you, not only did this dear person test positive, so did others in the family. Now, if you could just take a second and try and imagine what was going through their minds. They were probably terrified. All they needed from anyone that knew they had tested positive were #wellwishes, #support, and #positivity.
It’s understandable that fear blinds people at a time like this, but please do remember that anyone who contracts this virus doesn’t choose to, especially if they had been doing their part by practicing #socialdistancing/#physicaldistancing, trying to #stayhome when they can, and of course being sure to wash their hands often.
If you hear that someone has been tested positive, the first thing you need to do is verify it before spreading any rumours. As soon as I heard that this friend may have the virus, I checked in with someone close to them who confirmed that it was true. The friend said that they were doing well, although very overwhelmed and they would tell me about it themselves when they were ready. Once I heard it was factual, all I wanted to do was offer well wishes and any help I could, but I waited to hear from them. When they reached out to our friends, we all responded by offering support and love.
Although we live in a time filled with unknowns, there is one thing I’m certain of, and that is my message to society about the importance of #kindness and #compassion, must be heard.
Information compiled and shared by by Devi Bajaj Founder & Director of Enliven Health Concierge
Before panicking about the fact that Thailand is in a State of Emergency from today March 26th until April 30th (subject to extension), let me share facts as informed by the Australian Embassy in Thailand.
What has been closed down? Exceptions include take-away food/delivery, supermarkets & food markets, drug stores, shops selling necessary items, and convenience stores
Restaurants, including street food
Shopping malls
Weekend markets
Amusement parks, bowling lanes, gaming & internet shops
Beauty salons & tattoo shops
Golf courses or golf driving ranges
Exhibition & convention centres
All education institutions
Cinemas & theaters
Pubs & nightclubs
Swimming pools or similar service
Health spas, animal spas & the like
Boxing stadiums & boxing schools
Sports stadiums & gyms
What is allowed to still be open?
Banks & financial institutions
ATMs
Hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies
Delivery services
Government agencies
Hotels and hostels
Petrol stations
Postal service
Factories
Be cautious, these are illegal
Gatherings/protest
Sharing fake news about Covid-19
Below is an image depicting the information mentioned above:
In an article by the Bangkok Post this morning entitled “All doors closed to foreigners,” there is an infographic explaining decree directives, pasted below for your reference:
As of now there is no curfew imposed in Thailand. “However, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who oversees legal affairs, said a curfew might be imposed later if considered necessary. He added that if the government does go ahead with imposing a curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19, the order will be different from previous curfews which were only imposed at night to maintain peace and order. “The curfew for Covid-19 is likely to cover 24 hours, with exceptions for individuals seeking medical treatment, those going to court or those working in broadcasting services.”
“From now the measures to be imposed will be more intense and will affect people’s lives. I’m asking you to comply and be responsible. Some people may feel their rights are being infringed upon, but all this is being done to protect lives. If we take things seriously, we can get through this,” Gen Prayut said. The national police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said on Wednesday that a 24-hour curfew is a possibility, but the situation so far does not warrant it.
Anyway, this is the most up to date information I have as of now. I will continue to share more information as I see it. Today’s situation update about COVID19 in Thailand will be at 12:30pm at the Ministry of Public Health.
The National News Beareau of Thailand is a good source to follow, here’s a link to their Facebook page. I also believe Richard Barrow is a factual and informative source, his tweets can be found here.
As a final statement I would just like to share that my personal opinion on a few things:
Whether there is an official curfew or not, it is our responsibility to #stopthespread and #flattenthecurve by staying home. You can find more information about this in last week’s blog post here.
It’s a stressful time for the entire world, the least we can do is #spreadlove and #bekind to each other!
Stay home and stay safe, everyone. We will get through this together!
Information compiled and shared by by Devi Bajaj Founder & Director of Enliven Health Concierge
By now the coronavirus has spread globally and everyone is (if they aren’t they should be) talking about being socially responsible by taking part in #socialdistancing to #flattenthecurve.
Until last week I didn’t personally know anyone that has the coronavirus (now I know two people in Bangkok), but I was already practicing social responsibility for several reasons. If I become infected it is likely that I would recover well as I am young and don’t have any pre-existing conditions; but both my parents are over 60 (one is diabetic), my grandmother is almost 90, and my siblings are both immunocompromized which makes them ALL part of the high risk population. If any of them become infected it would be harder to recover and they would definitely need access to medical care.
Someone posted this image on social media and it really resonated with me:
Dr. Alok Patel from UC San Francisco explains social distancingby saying that it is essentially everyone doing their best to stay away from large crowds while we’re trying to reduce the spread of this disease. Imagine a crowded room full of people. Everyone in the room is healthy except 1 person who is affected with the coronavirus but they don’t know it. They shake hands with half the people in the room, and let’s say half of those people get infected. Over the next 5 days those people go on with their lives. Some develop what seems like a cold, others have no idea they’re sick but they’re spreading the coronavirus along the way infecting friends, family, and strangers without even knowing. That’s what health experts call an outbreak. Social distancing keeps the number of people in that crowded room from ever being infected by not being crowded. Dr. Patel says, “Social distancing is everybody’s responsibility. It’s the role to play in protecting your community and slowing the spread of the coronavirus.”
Here’s a video of Dr. Patel explaining the narrative above.
The “curve” researchers are talking about refers to the projected number of people who will contract COVID-19 over a period of time. (To be clear, this is not a hard prediction of how many people will definitely be infected, but a theoretical number that’s used to model the virus’ spread.) Here’s what one looks like:
The curve takes on different shapes, depending on the virus’s infection rate. It could be a steep curve, in which the virus spreads exponentially (that is, case counts keep doubling at a consistent rate), and the total number of cases skyrockets to its peak within a few weeks. Infection curves with a steep rise also have a steep fall; after the virus infects pretty much everyone who can be infected, case numbers begin to drop exponentially, too.
The faster the infection curve rises, the quicker the local health care system gets overloaded beyond its capacity to treat people. As we’re seeing in Italy (which we’re trying to prevent the rest of the world from experiencing), more and more new patients may be forced to go without ICU beds, and more and more hospitals may run out of the basic supplies they need to respond to the outbreak.
A flatter curve, on the other hand, assumes the same number of people ultimately get infected, but over a longer period of time. A slower infection rate means a less stressed health care system, fewer hospital visits on any given day and fewer sick people being turned away.
For a simple metaphor, consider an office bathroom.
“Your workplace bathroom has only so many stalls,” Charles Bergquist, director of the public radio science show “Science Friday” tweeted. “If everyone decides to go at the same time, there are problems. If the same number of people need go to the restroom but spread over several hours, it’s all ok.”
How do we flatten the curve?
As there is currently no vaccine or specific medication to treat COVID-19, and because testing is so limited in the U.S., the only way to flatten the curve is through collective action. (compiled from Live Science).
I listened to a live webinar organized by the Global Healthcare Resources and led by Dr. Marc Lipsitch, a Harvard Epidemiologist, says social distancing is crucial. The means by which to do that are to cancel public gatherings, close houses of worship, restaurants etc. He essentially says that if it were up to him he would close everything including schools and mass transit. He does make a point that there’s nothing bad about being outside the house. The problem is density of people and poor ventilation so it’s not that you can’t leave the house for 6 months, but if you are high risk you should have someone else go pick up your medication and food for you if you can. Vaccines are going to take at least a year, and could be considerably longer. Treatments are easier to test because they already exist. They are antiviral drugs that were designed for another purpose.
Dr. Lipsitch hit the nail on the head when he said, “Social distancing is a societal phenomenon. It takes all of us doing it that will make it work. It’s a lot like vaccinations, you do it for yourself and for other people. It’s a social responsibility to try and slow down the transmission as a member of society.”
Take care of yourselves, your loved ones and the global community by choosing to practicing social distancing.
Information compiled by Devi Bajaj
Founder and Director of Enliven Health Concierge
Below are links to more details related to the information above:
