being taken seriously and Mardi
incidence plummeted, but most have
protective equipment or using the
Gras celebrations were allowed to
treatments and cures. COVID-19 is
money to maintain existing services,
go ahead. Now data suggests that
an anomaly that requires hospitals to
they would always go for the latter.’
per capita New Orleans may be as
regress in ways, and that is difficult
badly hit as NYC. It is certainly the
for modern hospitals to do.
second epicentre of COVID-19, and
Orr points to politicians’ selfishness
differences there too. With the Spanish flu, according to Lone Simonsen and
preparations in most societies.
her colleagues writing in The Journal
place now to deal with COVID-19
‘Politicians are only interested in
of Infectious Diseases, 99% of deaths
are similar to what we’ve seen
what is going to happen up to the
in the US occurred in people under 65,
in the past, because that is what
next general election,’ she says. ‘The
and nearly half of deaths were in adults
works. But we are still not reacting
last decade’s austerity has reduced
20 to 40 years old. Though young
fast enough,’ Orr warns.
spending on health in places like
people aren’t ‘spared’, as the World
the UK, so there just has not been
Health Organization has repeatedly
learnt but they aren’t remembered
enough cash to spend on things that
stated, COVID-19 seems to affect
very long,’ Cohn concludes.
might not be [immediately] needed.
older people more. ‘I know of no other
OLD PROBLEMS, NEW WORLD
If healthcare administrators had
pandemic that had this age structure,
the choice of replacing out-of-date
in which those under ten years old
‘The precautions being put in
‘Lessons from history may be
have almost totally escaped,’ notes Cohn. ‘This COVID-19 is an enigma
Heraclitus taught his students that they could never step into the same
and the uniqueness of this pattern has
river twice. At this point, it’s not
not been addressed in the media.’
just the water that has changed, but
A TIME FOR SOUL SEARCHING
the river itself and us. Earth is now home to nearly 8 billion people, four times as many as in 1918. Air travel
People reveal who they are in times
is ubiquitous, with 39 million flights
of crises and this pandemic is doing
annually. Thanks to unions like the EU,
just that. ‘Often, diseases are thought
borders are no longer what they used
to bring out the worst in people,’
to be after WWI. Our communities
Cohn says. ‘There’s a lot of blame and
and economies are more interwoven
collective violence towards carriers.’
than ever before. Nowhere is this
Talking about cholera, Cohn outlines
clearer than in our healthcare systems.
this ‘great conspiracy among marginal
In the 1900s infectious diseases
populations’ that medical professionals
such as cholera and tuberculosis
were working with the state to kill off
were the leading causes of death,
the poor. ‘We saw riots; people burnt
and so hospitals were built to deal
down hospitals and killed doctors and
with them. Today, not only has their Focus
its targets, there seem to be notable
as one reason for insufficient
you can trace it back to Mardi Gras.’
18
Looking closer at the virus itself and
Dr Jane Orr
nurses. Ebola was a repeat but on a
