I saw this post shared today by my aunt Tish who I would see as a no-nonsense, down to earth sensible person who I have seen spending her whole life around animals and agriculture.
If there is ever another vacancy for an Agriculture Minister, I am sure my sensible aunt would make a great pick. BREAKING NEWS: Another Agriculture Minister has just left office.
I met the previous government's Agriculture Minister in Madrid for Saint Patrick's Day in 2019 and I was informed that he hung my picture of Madrid in his office whereas the current ministers barely have time to decorate their offices before being resigned or fired. We need more from this government than ever before but we also need more from every citizen than ever before so please take the time to read Doctor Henry's 19 tips to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
I remember when I was about seven, my aunt's husband was the strongest man I knew who would take two bales of hay, one in each hand while I tried to carry one on my back like a rucksack. Even as a teenager, I cycled everywhere but knew I would never out-cycle my uncle who always cycled and never drove. My aunt, on the other hand, drove everywhere which certainly makes her more qualified than some ministers who have been caught driving over the limit without a (full) driver's license.
The aunty-thesis of incompetence, with years organising equestrian events in the Midlands, it is time for the aunty-hero, my aunt Tish and her no-nonsense advice taken from Doctor Bonnie Henry who is a Canadian doctor employed as the Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia.
This is the best advice I have read in a long time! Dr Bonnie Henry is the head medical officer for BC and has helped to bring down the virus in the province, her advice below is worth noting She has been working with viruses for 20 years.
Below are Dr.. Bonnie Henry's Notes to all of us
1. We may have to live with C19 for months or years. Let's not deny it or panic. Let's not make our lives useless. Let's learn to live with this fact.
2. You can't destroy C19 viruses that have penetrated cell walls, by drinking gallons of hot water - you'll just go to the bathroom more often.
3. Washing hands and maintaining a two-metre physical distance is the best method for your protection.
4. If you don't have a C19 patient at home, there's no need to disinfect the surfaces at your house.
5. Packaged cargo, gas pumps, shopping carts and ATMs do not cause infection. If you wash your hands, live your life as usual.
6. C19 is not a food infection. It is associated with drops of infection like the 'flu. There is no demonstrated risk that C19 is transmitted by food.
7. You can lose your sense of smell with a lot of allergies and viral infections. This is only a non-specific symptom of C19.
8. Once at home, you don't need to change your clothes urgently and go shower! Purity is a virtue, paranoia is not!
9. The C19 virus doesn't hang in the air for long. This is a respiratory droplet infection that requires close contact.
10. The air is clean, you can walk through the gardens and through parks (just keeping your physical protection distance).
11. It is sufficient to use normal soap against C19, not antibacterial soap. This is a virus, not a bacteria.
12. You don't have to worry about your food orders. But you can heat it all up in the microwave, if you wish.
13. The chances of bringing C19 home with your shoes is like being struck by lightning twice in a day. I've been working against viruses for 20 years — drop infections don't spread like that!
14. You can't be protected from the virus by taking vinegar, sugarcane juice and ginger! These are for immunity not a cure.
15. Wearing a mask for long periods interferes with your breathing and oxygen levels. Wear it only in crowds.
16. Wearing gloves is also a bad idea; the virus can accumulate into the glove and be easily transmitted if you touch your face.
17. Better just to wash your hands regularly. Immunity is greatly weakened by always staying in a sterile environment.
18. Even if you eat immune boosting foods, please go out of your house regularly to any park/beach.
19. Immunity is increased by EXPOSURE TO PATHOGENS, not by sitting at home and consuming fried/ spicy/sugary food and aerated drinks.
Be smart and stay informed!
Live life sensibly and to the fullest.—
Be Kind Be Calm and Be Safe
Dr Bonnie Henry
I've always looked for good advice throughout this pandemic and while I have worried about shoes and showering when returning from shopping in the past, I think commonsense can beat this nonsense. Back before the WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic and we went into shutdown, I was already wearing a scarf around my face and a single disposable glove which allowed me to touch surfaces on the subway with one hand and my phone with the other. I think if everyone did the same on public transport in big cities like Madrid, at the start of March then we would have been done with coronavirus by April or May.
We all have to get on the same page with what has to be done and live our lives as best we can.
WELL READ: My aunt reading an article about an Athlone native in Madrid.
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