Quarantine alarm – Aze.Media

However, it was determined that the deceased patient had no contact with local birds. The investigation is ongoing. Mexican authorities are working to identify the source of infection and the WHO is assessing the potential danger of the new virus.

Many people are wondering when reading this news: should we expect strict lockdowns again because of bird flu? Since the winter and spring of 2020, news of a new type of respiratory illness or flu has been perceived very differently. The prospect of quarantine and lockdowns is often more frightening than the disease itself.

One can ignore the global debate about whether the strict quarantine in winter-spring 2020 was justified. One can also dismiss questions about whether the WHO could have responded more professionally to situations like the one on the cruise ship Diamond Princess, from which the coronavirus began to spread to many countries. At that time, reports emerged of inadequate separation of sick and healthy people on the ship, among other things, and that passengers without clinical symptoms were sent home without quarantine – all with serious consequences. One can avoid the discussion about why the WHO did not take the lead in the fight against “vaccine nationalism”. It is possible to find a plausible explanation for why many supposedly wealthy and developed countries lacked the health resilience required for a pandemic and why the WHO did not hastily issue recommendations on pandemic preparedness before the coronavirus. One can even ignore the leaked statistics showing that in Sweden, where no strict quarantine was introduced, excess mortality during the pandemic was lower than in neighboring countries with quarantine, or question the accuracy of these numbers. Finally, one could argue that Covid-19 has proven to be “the perfect virus for a pandemic,” causing a rapid collapse of public health systems and making quarantines inevitable. Moreover, Sweden’s experience with its highly developed health system, low population density, small family units and cultural habit of maintaining social distance even without Covid-19 is not applicable elsewhere.

However, the strict quarantine of 2020 has shown that quarantine is not just “some minor inconveniences” that one can endure. It is a very painful measure that should not be taken “just in case”.

There is a saying: COVID-19 hit everyone, but for some it was like being run over by a tank, for others like a child’s bicycle. Perhaps my family belongs to the category for whom the coronavirus was like a bicycle. In our immediate environment, no one became seriously ill with COVID-19. The media industry in which I work was not frozen by quarantine measures. The transition to remote work was relatively painless. Pensions and salaries were paid on time. Home delivery of everything from groceries and restaurant meals to books and craft supplies worked smoothly. We did not have to wait a week “on standby” to receive supermarket goods. And in Azerbaijan, there were no absurd requirements like not leaving the house further than 100 meters or shopping only at the nearest supermarket, regardless of the choice. But even a child’s bike leaves behind very painful consequences: almost two months indoors, without social contacts, not even being able to walk in the park – parks and boulevards were closed -, no opportunity to make vacation plans, and the uncertainty of how long we would be “locked down” and what the WHO might still require to close tomorrow. One could dismiss these problems and think that we can live without “entertainment” during a pandemic. Undoubtedly. But large shopping centers, tourism, the restaurant business, excursions and other “entertainment” also mean jobs. This is a huge sector of small businesses that suddenly found themselves “without oxygen.” The same goes for the fitness industry, spas, hairdressers, numerous beauty salons… One could snidely say that during a pandemic it is necessary to do without artificial nails, but what about the specialists who cannot do without the need to earn money for their services? Yes, in Azerbaijan the state provided financial support to those who were severely affected by quarantine, but financial help is not the same as a well-established business.

These measures in themselves do not lead to death, but prolonged stress does. Any doctor can confirm this.

The question of how much excess mortality is due to the stress of quarantine is rarely asked. Quarantine is considered a strict but necessary measure, without which mortality from COVID-19 would be much higher.

But perhaps this uncomfortable question should be asked. At least to ensure that quarantine is not imposed at the slightest sign of danger “just in case”. And to remember that even before COVID-19, the WHO raised the alarm without sufficient justification. At the turn of the 2000s and 2010s, we were already afraid of bird flu. It was noted that the infamous Spanish flu was preceded by a wave of bird flu. Although there were no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, there was considerable scaremongering about bird flu. Health authorities took tourists’ temperatures, hoarded vaccines, and hygiene services killed local birds. Fortunately, no epidemic occurred.

An even bigger scandal occurred with swine flu. PACE even conducted an investigation. The WHO declared a swine flu epidemic for no reason and recommended that countries stockpile vaccines and carry out vaccinations, but the epidemic never broke out. The virus disappeared. Independent experts found that the WHO’s decision to declare an epidemic and recommend vaccinations was driven by pharmaceutical giants. While these vaccines were safe, unnecessary spending on them meant less funding for other important areas of health care, which could be fatal.

The worst thing is the uncertainty as to whether the WHO will declare a state of emergency again without good reason.

N. Sheikhzade

Translated by minval.az