Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1256426
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW pose) use of masks or visors, so- cial distancing and regular hand washing/sanitising. This cannot be over emphasised. It is understandable that peo- ple will remain afraid and some will prefer not to risk at all, but constant vigilance is key. In this way, they should feel safe. At the end of the day, we cannot keep people locked up forever. Many of the fatalities world- wide were associated with 'un- derlying health conditions' that exacerbated the illness. For the benefit of people who might not realise they are vulnerable: can you give an indication of what such conditions may be? The commonest underlying conditions that have accounted for death in COVID-19 patients worldwide are hypertension (high blood pressure) and dia- betes. Heart disease, lung disease, kidney and liver disease in gen- eral are also major important underlying conditions. Obesity is also a factor: as is age, of course (over 65) and even just being male are additional risks. There are many others, but I've only listed the impor- tant ones. It has been argued that we also need to strike a balance between people's health, and the economy: in other words, to ensure that 'the cure is not worse than the disease'. Do you agree with that view; and if so, how would you approach striking that balance? This is the million-dollar ques- tion. As medical professionals, health is our priority, so we tend to look at health before econ- omy. We do realise, of course, that the economy is very im- portant, and we also know that there are "social determinants of health". People without jobs, with mental health problems, with undue stress, will suffer more than others from physical health issues. So yes, a balance has to be struck, and it's not easy. As I mentioned before, we agree with removing restrictions, but we would have been happier if these were done more slowly. Meanwhile the announcement of a 'return to normality' – and especially that the airport will reopen – has also raised con- cerns that Malta may be open- ing itself to a 'second wave'. Do you share this concern? And is Malta prepared to handle this eventuality? My next statement is a per- sonal one, and not necessarily reflective of the college's point of view. I hope we do not return to the pre-COVID normal. I hope that we take the positives from all this, and slow down a bit; I hope we strive to safeguard our envi- ronment and start looking more at quality of life; and I hope that we all show responsibility to- wards each other as we have done, in the majority, during the pandemic. It would be a real shame if we do not regard this pandemic as a wake-up call to a more holis- tic life style. It has also shown us that mankind needs this planet, because it is our home and it is becoming more and more ur- gent that we tackle the issue of sustainability. The planet and all its other inhabitants can do perfectly well without us. As for the airport. Of course, all medical professionals are con- cerned that we may re-import the virus. It is a reality that may happen. Once again, we have to be very careful. As a college, we would have thought that screen- ing passengers might be the way forward. We shall see, but yes, it is a worry. I think, unless we get totally swamped, we are pre- pared to handle the eventuality of numbers increasing again be- cause contingencies for this are remaining in place. We hope that until after the first wave (nothing to do with the virus!) of tourists arrives, we then wait, continue to test, and then decide if it's safe to open other routes. We cannot hurry this up. At the same time, there has al- so been a discernible backlash against the original lockdown measures: some now argue that the threat of COVID-19 had been exaggerated by the world health authorities from the start. Is it possible that Malta's success could, in fact, be ex- plained by the view that COV- ID-19 was not as dangerous as previously believed? We do not subscribe to the view that this was exaggerated. Look at the rest of the world. There have been around 6.5 million cases so far and close to 400,000 deaths. Countries that did not take this seriously did badly. There have also been a lot of conflicting reports about the current state of the pandem- ic: with some arguing that the virus has mutated to a less ag- gressive form (or that there is more than one strain) while others insist that COVID-19 still remains the same threat. On the basis of the most reliable scientific evidence, which of these views is more accurate? The World Health Organi- sation and Centre for Disease Control have recently confirmed that the virus remains the same strain, and that reports coming out of Italy are unfounded. Lastly, there is also a persistent belief that COVID-19 is a 'man- made virus'; or that it may have some form of link to 5G technol- ogy. How do you react to such claims? There is absolutely no evidence to corroborate any of these con- spiracy theories. Let's keep our feet on the ground. The virus is still here and may still pose a threat, albeit to a lesser degree. All you need is one infected person in a crowd and that can start the ball rolling again I hope we do not return to the pre-COVID normal. I hope that we take the positives from all this, and slow down a bit; I hope we strive to safeguard our environment and start looking more at quality of life