Immunity Passport
Why is it so hard for governments to issue clear rules? Religions have been doing it for millennia. In my last post I expressed my delight that the Ministry of Interior made a statement that one parent could take one child for a walk in the vicinity (200m) of his/her home. Well, I celebrated too soon. The statement encountered huge backlash. Local governors declared it irresponsible, and a mother took to her computer to write an op-ed entitled #iononpasseggio (I will not go for a walk), arguing that the temporary wellbeing of her child was not worth prolonging a nationwide crisis. Last night, during a press conference Prime Minister Conte was questioned about the statement. His answer? That it was not permitted, nor had it ever been, to go out for walks with a child, but that if a parent was going to the supermarket, it was fine to take one child along. You’ll forgive me for wondering how this makes any sense. It’s not ok to walk around the block with a child, but it’s ok to bring the child to the supermarket, where there are plenty of other people (supposedly at a 1m distance, but not really)? Last I checked the rule was that you had to go to the supermarket alone. I predict that soon the supermarkets will protest that their stores are full of children, and a new edict will be issued that kids should just stay (TF) home.
Lately I have been reading a lot about the concept of an “Immunity Passport”. Researchers are conducting a test at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany with a sample of 100,000 people to test for antibodies. The idea is, that if a person shows that they have developed the antibodies to the virus they could be issued with a certificate or “Immunity Passport” that would allow these people to return to work. A similar test is being conducted in the Veneto region of Italy. The Governor Luca Zaia has been very aggressive in his fight against the virus, an early an advocate of blanket testing and works closely with one of Italy’s preeminent virologists, Giorgio Palù. Zaia’s approach to combatting the virus has been lauded here in Italy as being the strictest but also the most effective, and now the region is also leading the effort on this antibody testing. A few interesting tidbits: The antibody test is apparently made by a Chinese lab (Snibe Diagnostics) and has a cost of about 10 euros. Private companies, eager for the return of their workforce are allegedly willing to pay for their employees to be tested. While this sounds somewhat promising, it does beg the question as to what all of those who have not gotten the virus should do in the meantime? An article in The Guardian suggests that such a system could incentivise people to go out and try to “catch” Coronavirus. In a bleak analogy, I am reminded of that disturbing movie with Sandra Bullock “Bird Box” where everyone has to hide inside their homes with a bandage over their eyes, while a group of immune savages roam freely trying to lure people out of their homes and to their death.
While we are on disturbing topics, can someone please explain to me why Donald Trump’s approval ratings are so high? Have the citizens of the U.S. not noticed that his painful vacillations? He went from declaring Covid19 nothing but a mild flu a month ago to stating that the country is about to experience its hardest two weeks in history. Are people so desperate for leadership in a time of crisis that they see leadership where there is none? Or are willing to blindly accept any leader? It’s baffling to me. Please share your theories. And finally, on my favourite topic, if you have not done so, I suggest you read this piece on the bidet in The New York Times.