Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1221489
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MARCH 2020 OPINION The South Koreans embarked on a surveillance and intelligence approach, checking the location and movements of infected people by the use of mobile data and CCTV, and in that way located other infected people and enforced quarantine Saviour Balzan Like nothing ever before @saviourbalzan UNPRECEDENTED times in- deed. It brings out the worst and best in all of us. The virus that no one believed would hit us, has struck home, and in do- ing so it has changed our life and habits. Brought us all down to ground zero. It is perhaps a time to reflect and ask ourselves how fragile life is and how it can all change so dramatically in just 24 hours. Those that have suffered depri- vation because of war and eco- nomic deprivation know what it means to lose everything. We have not lost everything but some people feel they have. Suddenly we have become im- bued to the protocol of limiting contamination by cleaning our hands, covering our mouths when sneezing, wearing protec- tive suits inside hospitals… (an- yone who has had to visit on- cology patients would be very conscious of such a regime); handshakes, kissing and even close proximity are no longer the norm. Overnight, political issues seem to evaporate. Last week we were covering the Vitals hospitals scandal and the Stew- ard contract; today it may seem irrelevant (although it is not). Prof. Charmaine Gauci, previ- ously well known in our media circle, has become a household name, her briefings an appoint- ment we cannot afford to miss. People have stocked up their freezers with kilogrammes of meat, and bathrooms are adorned by piles of toilet paper. Suddenly everyone seems to understand what a virus is and comprehend the difference be- tween a virus and a bacterium. No one seems to be short of ad- vice or the latest news. And yet, we are still at the be- ginning of this surreal conta- gion. If the infections spike, we may be facing the first deaths, and those will be very probably limited to the elderly with weak immune systems. Who knows? Beyond the health concerns, many businesses will be severe- ly damaged and some may be crippled, unable to sustain their salary bill. The self-employed will fare worse. Yesterday's measures will help, but they fall short. The biggest cost for any business, big and small, are the salaries. A business survives with its turn- over and a serious problem of cash flow will not see hundreds of businesses through April. More so, because there will be no trade. And let us remember that some businesses have been shell shocked since December. This is a trying time and it will need immediate attention. Political parties should steer clear of making political state- ments or observations. Most people are switched off and are unwilling to listen to rhetoric or self-praise. The prime min- ister Robert Abela has had a daunting task with no chance or opportunity to live through his honeymoon. At this stage, I believe he has played his cards right and the decision taken are balanced. We have never seen a pan- demic like this before and we can only have one set of re- sponses. If they are followed well, we could avoid the worst. Abela has said that we have had chance to learn from the Italian experience. In other words, from the way the Italian handled the crisis. And here it is interesting to see the differ- ence between the way South Korea and Italy handled COV- ID-19. Both countries had the same number of infected peo- ple but South Korea had fewer deaths. The answer to that is that South Koreans embarked on a surveillance and intelligence approach, checking the loca- tion and movements of infected people by the use of mobile da- ta and CCTV, and in that way located other infected people and enforced quarantine. Sure enough there are issues of privacy; but just see the dif- ference between the number of individuals who died in South Korea and those in Italy. In It- aly's case it was not a case of privacy but a breakdown in the health system. Which brings me to the sug- gestion that since we are only at 18 when it comes to infections as we go to print, it could be a great opportunity for the Mal- ta Security Services to get in- volved and use their knowledge to address this matter, by track- ing people who could potential- ly have been unknowingly or knowingly with the infected. Last Sunday, I was eating in a restaurant and it was packed with people laughing and smil- ing, eating their food a week later Malta is a very different place. What is sure that here at Mal- taToday, we are determined to keep the flag flying and at all costs, just in the same way as our colleagues in the other me- dia houses are doing. We too face serious fiscal challenges. But this is the time for us to keep the public informed and abreast of the latest. Politics in the time of coronavirus