The peak of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) epidemic in China has already passed, said Mi Feng, an official representative of the Chinese Health Committee. According to him, currently, with the exception of Wuhan, no new cases of infection have been registered in all cities of Hubei Province for an entire week. Outside Hubei Province, seven new cases have been detected, of which six are imported. The spread of the virus in China has already been stopped.
China’s victory
In other words, China defeated the coronavirus. The key to the victory was not just technical perfection, but also the social technologies demonstrated by China: discipline, coherence of all services, self-sacrifice of doctors, some of whom died but did everything to stop the spread of the epidemic. China was able to quickly and efficiently close cities and multi-million provinces, build hospitals in a matter of days, use the latest technology to control the movement of people and warn of the need to maintain quarantine.
Walking around without a protective face mask? Well, you can’t avoid these sharp-tongued drones! Many village and cities in China are using drones equipped with speakers to patrol during the #coronavirus outbreak. pic.twitter.com/ILbLmlkL9R
China’s timely and radical action against the coronavirus not only improved prospects in China, but also gave time for the rest of the world to respond. It is not just China which has won, but the Chinese way of life. With the chaos in Europe and the US, and even Iran, the world has a recipe – if you want to face new challenges – be like China: effective, authoritarian, closed, without playing games of democracy and the free market.
China was able to withstand not just the virus, but also the consequences of stopping one third of the economy and surviving the information war unleashed against it when the Western media accused China of underestimating the epidemic. Chinese President Xi Jinping confirmed his Mandate of Heaven. A new legitimization of power has taken place.
Now China has begun supplying medicines, medical masks and equipment to other countries such as Iran and Italy. Chinese volunteers are also headed to Italy.
Sichuan: cinque volontari si recano in Italia per combattere l’epidemiaMercoledì 11 marzo, cinque volontari della…
China can now offer other countries its social and medical technologies. It is important that it now serves as a role model, a source of stability in a chaotic world. China is only strengthening its world leadership. The fall in oil prices will also be very timely for China, allowing for a rapid economic recovery.
While China contained and eliminated the problem, it has spread rapidly in the open society, itself a kind of disease, much like globalization itself.
Following the spread of the coronavirus, states began closing their borders one after another. The US closed its borders with the EU. Denmark and Italy fenced off the rest of the Schengen Area. The closure turned out to be a blessing. The openness preached by liberalist apologists led by George Soros was dangerous and has now proven to be a failed policy. The flows of migrants had already brought the entire structure into question, and the coronavirus seems to have finally killed it.
Famous American historian Niall Ferguson notes that the increased interconnectedness of different parts of the world contributed to the spread of coronavirus. In his opinion, standard epidemiological models tend to underestimate the threat posed by the virus because they do not take into account the topology of social networks that transmit it. The higher the mobility, the more likely the coronavirus is to spread through network hubs.
David Shaywitz, a physician-scientist from Silicon Valley and the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, argues that “the existence of superspreaders reinforces a concern about the vulnerability of networks.” The world of global networks is becoming a threat to humanity. Even the globalist Jacques Attali now believes that “our production must be different and we must promote a spatial division of labour that is much less dispersed and fragile.”
Coronavirus is forcing the transition from the model or ideal of a global network society to the order of large spaces: closed, limited, separated and self-sufficient. The breakage of connections within the world economy makes autarchy necessary.
The US: a deadly world hegemon
The Global Times notes that the spread of coronavirus in the US could become a “black swan” for the American economy and Donald Trump personally. https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1181461.shtml.
The Dow Jones has dropped significantly as a result of the outbreak. President Donald Trump is faced with a terrifying dilemma: close the country, running the risk of strangling the economy, or let the virus spread. Both choices endangers his political position, especially in an election year.
BREAKING: Stocks sink after Trump travel ban, underwhelming economic measures add to fears about virus impact; Dow drops 1,600. https://t.co/Uu0mqS3fxd
The publication further notes that the US is not ready for the coronavirus epidemic. The administration already recognizes that the vaccine may not be available to many, if not most Americans. This in itself raises questions about US public health policy and quality.
The impact of the corona virus on the global and US economies could be problematic for Trump. A sustained drop in the stock market, combined with the poor handling of the COVID-19 threat, could impact Trump’s election chances.
The fact that the US has become the center of globalization makes it vulnerable to coronavirus. Capitalist ethics and expensive health care are additional factors that make the spread of coronavirus in the US even more dangerous. Adding to this, a presidential campaign with permanent state primary votes, meetings and major demonstrations creates additional opportunities for the spread of the dangerous virus.
With the spread of coronavirus, the presence of multiple military bases across all continents is now a source of threat to Americans themselves, as they are currently exposed to possible infection. Global hegemony is becoming deadly for ordinary Americans.
On March 12, the Pentagon announced a 60-day ban on visits by military, family and civilian personnel of the country’s so-called “Level 3 threat ” (China, South Korea, Italy and Iran) and a ban on official delegations from the “Level 2” countries (so far only Japan). The United States and South Korea have cancelled exercises until the end of the epidemic.
The US officially announced the scaling-back of Defender-Europe 20 due to coronavirus. However, how many thousands of American soldiers will still arrive in Europe affected by the virus is not specified.
Globalism’s last battle
There is no doubt that globalists will try to exploit the epidemic by claiming that the global problem requires a global solution, and that Transnational institutions must be strengthened to address the problem as soon as possible. Will Hutton from the Guardian blames for the pandemic “unregulated world.”
“Now, one form of unregulated, free-market globalization with its propensity for crises and pandemics is certainly dying. But another form that recognizes interdependence and the primacy of evidence-based collective action is being born. There will be more pandemics that will force governments to invest in public health and respect the science they represent – with parallel movements on climate change, the oceans, finance and cybersecurity”… why? “Because we can’t do without globalization.”
Philosopher and political analyst Slavoj Zizek recently presented another – left-wing variation of the same globalist thought: “thinking about an alternate society, a society beyond nation-state, a society that actualizes itself in the forms of global solidarity and cooperation.” According to him “we should start to put together some kind of GLOBAL healthcare network” and prepare for “efficient global coordination.”
However, all previous attempts to strengthen institutions have only failed. Globalization creates the threats that the world’s leading players can and should deal with together, but in a sovereign manner, in dialogues between civilization, in separated and closed spaces.
The coronavirus has pushed mankind to reassess the ideas of globalization and open society, hopefully for good.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
