Olympics in a Pandemic

Olympic athletes and world competitors seek to take their talents to the highest stage and become a part of history. The pandemic that is ending has altered many lives. As the world heals, less than 10% of the globe is fully vaccinated.  Should we move forward with the Olympics next month?

The decision is not ours to make. It is up to the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government and the athletes who are participating. Let us not forget the Japanese people who have financed, worked on, and promoted the games as well as the coaches and managers who have worked tirelessly to get the athletes up to par. It is an extremely hard decision, one with severe consequences – both good and bad. We are mistaken if we make generalities about other countries, communities, and people.

The distribution and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine on a worldwide scale has not been a simple process. It takes time and the vaccine has been out less than year. It will be a foreboding task for the world to receive the shots needed in both dense city populations and rural, wilderness, and farm communities. 

Then there are the economics and business factors surrounding the Olympics.  The money spent and to be gained do not supersede the importance of health, the infected, or the lives lost, but it is a component. Japan has spent billions on the Olympics with the goal of opening the country’s doors in 2020 and letting the world see the beauty and culture of the Japanese people. Money from ticket sales and sponsorships will pay for the infrastructure created for the event. It’s not going to happen as planned as Japan is not allowing visitors into the country, and the games will be kept to a 50% capacity.  

There are many issues to consider when assessing how large-scale events should be handled in this pandemic era. We hope for the best and that solid decisions are made with the safety precautions that keep everyone safe. We look forward to the competition as these world-class athletes are given an international stage to compete so that everyone can see the greatness they are trying to achieve.

How the COVID “Storm” Took India

by Callum Lee

            On February 1, 2021, COVID-19 cases in India were at an all-time low. At 8,635 cases, people presumed that the country was out of the red and would not experience a second wave like Brazil and the United Kingdom. However, the emergence of a new variant of coronavirus, the relaxing of restrictions, as well as lack of medical supplies and hospital space in India has led to a massive spike in COVID-19 cases. As of today, the country sits at 329,000 cases, with only 10% of the population having one vaccine dose and 2% being fully vaccinated. The country has been caught off-guard, overwhelming the health system and rendering the rollout of the vaccine to a mere trickle. People have taken to the black market to buy medical supplies such as oxygen tanks for their dying loved ones.

Because ventilators and oxygen are in short supply, patients are ferried from hospital to hospital by desperate relatives in order to find aid. In an interview with Channel 4 News, Dr. Sumit Ray explains that citizens are dying on the way to hospitals because of the lack of beds. He is exasperated by the shortage of supplies and space, helpless to the waves of patients that can only wait to die. At a hospital in Delhi, Manika Goel sits at her husband’s bedside, searching for a ventilator. She tells Channel 4 News that “it isn’t COVID that’s killing people. It is the unavailability of the treatment which is killing people.” The doctors tell her that her husband only has two days to live. Her story, while agonizing and unfortunate, is like so many others in India.

Devastation has overrun the country to the point that even crematoriums have become overpopulated. Car parks have been fitted as emergency funeral pyres in order to accommodate for the number of bodies that need to be cremated. Even in death, the families of the victims are pressed to find arrangements for funerals and ensure that their loved ones are put to rest properly. There is no peace for the people of India.

Other countries such as the UK and the USA are committed to aiding the country by sending health supplies, oxygen, masks, and medicine. U.S. President Joe Biden announced that by July 4, the U.S. will send 10% of its AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries, such as Canada, Mexico, and India. This past year has been an immense struggle for everyone worldwide, and as some countries are coming out from under the hold of COVID-19, some may forget that there are still people out there suffering. In these times, it is imperative to cherish our loved ones and what we have, but it is also our duty to exercise empathy and help others.

If you are interested in donating to help India, here is a link of places you can donate. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-to-help-india-during-its-covid-surge-12-places-you-can-donate 

How We Handle Panic in this Pandemic

Cartoon by marshall ramsey

New Zealand Vs. the UK: How these Countries Measure up During COVID-19

It’s been almost a year since COVID-19 appeared and sent the world into mass chaos, but now that vaccines are rolling out, it almost seems like we’re out of the woods. In retrospect, it’s easy to critique how worldwide governments have handled the coronavirus from the beginning until now. It’s common knowledge that the United States was one of the worst countries to deal with the coronavirus, clocking in at around 31.4 million cases and about 563,000 deaths. But what might not be so common is the fact that countries like Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland, and Singapore were some of the best countries to combat COVID-19, while the US, the UK, Brazil, and Mexico were the worst.

            Right now, life in New Zealand is mask-free and as normal as it can get with the coronavirus still running amok through the rest of the world. New Zealand sits at a total of 2,201 cases and a whopping 26 deaths from COVID-19. These numbers may be due to its smaller population size, but despite their numbers, we can still admire how New Zealand locked down hard after COVID cases started appearing in the country. Instead of just “flattening the curve,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern administered a “disease elimination” approach to the coronavirus by announcing a full national lockdown on March 26, 2020 after 102 cases were reported. By swiftly reporting COVID cases, imposing flight restrictions and locking down the country in the beginning of 2020, New Zealand managed to almost eliminate the curve and efficiently succeeded in bringing their country back from the brink of COVID chaos.

            On the other hand, the United Kingdom’s response to the coronavirus was less than stellar, with 4.36 million cases and around 126,955 deaths. COVID guidelines from the government were ambiguous at best, with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraging citizens to go about their business as COVID cases in the UK were confirmed. Like New Zealand, the UK entered nation-wide lockdown around the same time on March 23, 2020, but unlike New Zealand, the UK had over 6,500 cases and 330 deaths at this time. Similar to the US in the early days of COVID-19, the UK struggled with overcapacity in hospitals, failed to lockdown in time to curb COVID, and didn’t establish an efficient COVID testing system early on.

            From a surface level, there’s not much different between the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Both European countries have universal health care and similarly structured governments. We can’t place the blame definitively on one thing or another, but we do know that the reaction of our world leaders and how our communities support each other directly influence how we handle panic in this pandemic.

By Callum Lee