On January 30, 2020 coronavirus Covid-19 became a global health emergency of international concern as shared on this blog and announced by the World Health Organization, WHO.
On March 11th, WHO announced a global pandemic:
“WHO characterizes COVID-19 as a pandemic
11 March 2020
Speaking at the COVID-19 media briefing, the WHO Director-General said:
"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.
We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.
Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.
Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do.
We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus.
And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time."
Then two days later on Friday, March 13, 2020, the White House declared a national emergency.
On March 11- 14th, we were in St. George Utah for our kid’s baseball tournament and the Governor of Utah closed activities involving more than 150 people. Other governors from around the country began issuing orders for limiting crowd sizes and events to different requirements.
On March 15th, the NCAA cancelled the basketball tournament known as March Madness for the first time since it began in 1939! So while college basketball’s March Madness was cancelled, we been seeing fear and panic this month like I’ve never seen before.
The global stock markets crashed by 25 to 30% during this global March madness erasing that past three years of gains.
Grocery stores shelves emptied in panic buying including toilet paper.
Due to the slow and uncoordinated federal responses in the US and Europe, the virus and fear have spread rapidly. Here is a video comparing Mr. Trump’s statements on Covid-19 with a timeline.
The contrast in responses by Asian nations is remarkable. For example, South Korea has free WiFi networks in Seoul and low-cost cell service nationwide. This and many other preparations enabled a rapid high-tech response to mitigate Covid-19 according to a March 21 Wired article.
India and many other countries required staying-at-home including in my state of Colorado effective today. I heard an estimated 25% of the world’s population is required to stay home. Over 1.5 billion children (including 55 million in the U.S.) are at home and not in school according to UNESCO.
So what can we do to transform the Covid-19 March madness into positive actions in April?
We need to replace fear with courage.
We need accurate, scientific medical information and not political hogwash that stinks and hides the truth.
We rapidly need to keep school children busy at home with many productive, learning activities. As a part-time substitute teacher, I’ve found great benefit from Teaching with Love and Logic books as recommended by our local academy.
We need to pressure our elected officials to insist on a coordinated federal-state-local response to testing, obtaining protective medical supplies, sufficient facilities, people, and more. Will $2 trillion added to the U.S. economy be sufficient or is more needed?
We need positive affirmations! Checkout the show called The Secret on Netflix.
We need to be prepared and be ready, especially now that that FEMA is in charge of the Covid-19 response. See Ready.Gov.
We need to conserve and ration our resources - a continual theme of Conserve-Prosper LLC. I described my family experience with rationing during WWII in my blog on Memorial Day 2016 and here’s an excerpt:
My Mom shared memories as I was growing up of the War Rationing Program to conserve all resources. Each family received a coupon book to purchase food, clothing, shoes, gasoline, and much more. The government wanted everyone to ration goods to help the soldiers and created messages like, "Do with less so they'll have enough." Recycling programs began! My Mom described having to write a letter with only one piece of paper -- so she wrote on both sides, in the margins, and after writing the letter on two sides she turned the paper upside down to print in the spaces between the lines! Talk about being economical! So that's how my parents raised us baby boomers: to be very conservative and not waste anything.
Here are some of my favorite prayers that we can all say to strengthen our resolve:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”
Empowering Prayers for Everyday Life by Unity: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31”
“Amma knows my children are all living in fear of Coronavirus. Amma is thinking of all of you and praying for you. This is a time when you have to exercise extreme caution and alertness. It is the time to respond with courage, self-control and unity. Amma knows that my children are all afraid, but fear is not helpful now. What is needed is caution and alertness. Courage is the primary thing. With courage, you can overcome anything. So, abandon fear and gather courage. The antivirus that can kill this virus is courage. Courage is our mind’s antivirus. If you befriend धैर्य लक्ष्मी Dhairya Lakshmi [the Goddess of Courage], you will gain the strength to face and overcome anything…..Each day sit in your room for some time and chant the mantra Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu: May All the Beings in the World be Peaceful and Happy!”