SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
Why is lockdown
important?
The important feature of the lockdown, is the preparedness required for the medical system to start operating in any nation, it is a concrete research based set of actions taken as precautionary measures in the face of a potential disaster.
The lockdown gives a nation time to rearrange things for medical emergencies like setting up quarantine facilities, setting up of medical teams and training these teams, for careful handling of positive patients and how to contain the spread of the deadly virus, within the fraternity and outside it.
COVID -19 is a new virus, hence it gets the name novel Corona Virus (nCoV) it is a new strain that has not been identified in humans before, being a cousin of the SARS and MARS group, they have a way of copying themselves, by replicating and spreading very fast. Cases can rise exponentially, if the virus is allowed to spread unchecked the number of cases can surpass any countries population.
The lockdown gives the citizens in a community the chance to discipline themselves, thus the use of gloves, sanitizers, and the mask to stop the spread of any diseases. While people are getting their act together about staying clean and the constant act of washing their hands, the lockdown contains the chance of any community spread, the longer a nation stays this way, the better the chances of the fight over it. Scientists and doctors, are yet to come up with any positive solution, when that happens there are many stages, to ascertain the guarantee of the drug, before testing begins and the reaction of the drug itself is defined about its capabilities to take control.
Opening up the economy is detrimental to all that was achieved through this watchful discipline. Are the father's of decision ready to compromise health over economy. The latter can always be re-structured. But a life. Can it be replaced? What is our crucial priority today? Money matters over life! Pun intended.
Noel Desouza, Arpora
Crackdown on sale
of adulterated food
Over the last many years Goa has been witnessing a huge rise in cancer cases which is partly attributed to the impure food we consume. Now more so in this COVID -19 pandemic, it is all the more important that we ensure that nothing we eat is adulterated, unhygienic or substandard.
Over the last few weeks we are seeing anything and everything being unauthorisedly sold by all and sundry anywhere and everywhere while the authorities are conveniently turning a Nelson’s eye to all this illegal trade which should be a health concern to all. Even substandard and possibly formalin laced fish is being sold all over in private vehicles and along the roads.
It is incumbent on the authorities to ensure that all food items are sold only at the markets and in the authorized shops. The Food & Drug Administration must wake up from its slumber and get its act together by cracking on this sale of adulterated food items to prevent a further rise in cancer and other ailments. It is imperative that the public also in the interest of their own health should not patronize such road side sales.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Back to basics
from school
It has always been my wish that someday we will put into practice what we learnt in school.
History gave us a lot of knowledge of our freedom, Civics thought us how the system works where administration is concerned.
Now did we really pay attention to what we learnt in school? If at all we did why are we still struggling with the fight that we are fighting against corruption and dictatorship? As per what we learnt in school and if you ask your own children to explain Democracy they will without any effort tell you that Democracy means "Government by the people, of the people and for the people" in short the people are the Government.
Did we ever pay attention to the definition of what this meant? Did we ever make an effort to say that this is not what we practice? This has just been there in theory and nothing is practiced, our generation is way advanced and they are just deserting us without utilizing their knowledge to confront the atrocities, because they are already fed up of what is going on and better off to get out of the country than waste time on making our own understand by pointing at the facts that influence the downfall of our country and that is corruption.
We have seen dictatorship has slowly blanketed Democracy right in front of our eyes and we feel helpless because dirty politics play the game of abusing power. My dear friends, to fight dirty politics you have to educate yourself by utilizing the back to basics knowledge from school.
First of all if our Constitution says that Democracy of India gives power to the people, it is enough to say that the Govt. Leaders we choose have to listen to the people, and this is not happening because we as the People who are the Government afraid to voice our opinions against the illegalities that these servants we chose arrogantly feel that they are the law.
The time has come to fight a war against these dirty politicians and throw them out just as we did decades before to get back our freedom, this is nothing less than modern slavery but the difference is it has been done by the people we chose. We have been going with the flow where the stream ends in a pond of corruption and dictatorship. This is not what the Constitution says, there is a saying "The pen is mightier than the sword" when the leaders don't follow what is written it is our democratic right to challenge the perpetrators. These people might be goons, but when the fury of the people takes force they will be burnt to ashes, don't be afraid to speak for our rights, there is nothing more powerful than the power of the people.
Savio D'Costa, Chandor
