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Open Letter to the world from an infectious disease specialist about Covid-19

https://www.facebook.com/abdu.sharkawy?__tn__=%2CdCH-R-R&eid=ARDIStwGP8KCBe-SzZ8wj1mdvQ2JWwKV6WYIJ3Z | 03-05 | Abdu Sharkawy

Posted on by MNJohnnie

I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts. Our children will thank us for it.

#washurhands #geturflushot #respect #patiencenotpanic



TOPICS:

KEYWORDS:

coronavirus

disease

hysteria

scaredauthor

taqiyya





To: MNJohnnie

Totally agree. If a libtard were in office like Obama or Hillary it wouldnt even make the news .



To: MNJohnnie

Good post.



by 3 posted onby Rusty0604 (2020 four more years!)

To: MNJohnnie

Thank you for the for the post for reason.

I am so sick of the non stop of the screeching of the sky is falling the sky is falling



by 4 posted onby dirtymac (Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.(DT4POTUS))

To: MNJohnnie

.



by 5 posted onby sauropod (David Horowitz: ÂInside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out.Â)

To: MNJohnnie

Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested. But but... isn't this the rule for teaching in all our schools?



To: MNJohnnie

Good points. Actually, we are all going to die soon enough. We should live and if wise get the next life redeemed by Christ.



To: MNJohnnie

Excellent post. The doomsayers will hate it!



by 8 posted onby Grampa Dave (Polticalwire.com is naming the Wuhan virus as BidenÂs running mate, they are gleeful.)

To: MNJohnnie

Thanks. Sounds a lot like sanity.



by 9 posted onby Mrs. Don-o (Philosophy isa battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. Wittgenstein)

To: MNJohnnie

I know what I see, and I see that someone has stockpiled more toilet paper than myself, so that has to be what’s going to get us through this thing. Off to the store I go.



Flu Brotwo thumbs up!



by 11 posted onby Vermont Lt (ÂEveryone who needed to be tested were tested.Â DJT at first presser. Absurd.)

To: MNJohnnie

To: MNJohnnie

He or she sounds like a liberal...



To: roadcat

Panic, fear Reaction, self-interest. All foundations of liberalism & the democrat parry



by 14 posted onby Sasparilla ( I'm Not Tired of Winning)

To: aMorePerfectUnion

“Abdu Sharkawy is an Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases

consultant and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University

of Toronto. He has been a longstanding volunteer with experience involving

several charitable organizations and those committed to social justice pursuits,

including Amnesty International, the United Way and Doctors without Borders.



To: MNJohnnie

Shared on Fakebook



To: MNJohnnie

Disagree with his entire post. Liberal not wanting any inconvenience in his life.



To: aMorePerfectUnion

'Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts. Our children will thank us for it.' He or she sounds like a liberal. What makes you think so?



To: MNJohnnie

Someone needs to talk to Drudge, his aggregation of panic headlines is not good. Sometimes freedom of speech can be dangerous.



To: MNJohnnie

ping



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