GUEST BLOG: Ross Meurant – By most accounts, this Coronavirus pox is a problem.

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Washington Post for example, say this

Chinese president Xi Jinping warns of ‘accelerating spread’ of coronavirus

China’s leader Xi Jinping warned on Saturday (Sunday NZT) about the “grave” threat posed by the “accelerating spread” of the coronavirus and urged his government to rally under the Communist Party’s central leadership.

Sowing fear and loathing?   I wouldn’t say that. In fact, I reckon there is a strong probability that the Chinese government is not letting on how bad this pox really is.

While I’m not a graduate in medical science, I was once Under Secretary in Charge of Bio Security – 1990ies- before Bio Security had its own Minister in charge.

What that experience did alert me to was the vulnerability of New Zealand when it came to preventing animal and plant disease from getting into our country.

A bigger problem was, the ability of our Ministries to deal with invasive virus/bacteria/pox, once it was established.

Of Coronavirus, Health Minister David Clark said the extra measures were being taken following the arrival of the disease in Australia, via flights directly from the city of Wuhan.

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National health spokesperson Michael Woodhouse chastised the Government, questioning whether those health services that would likely see the first New Zealand cases – namely GP clinics – were prepared or protected enough.  

This is not a matter of being pro Labour or pro National.  This is a matter of pro common sense.

I am very pro Chinese ‘invasion’ as immigrants who bring capital which drives our fragile economy and who are prepared to work.  I do not harbour the xenophobic sentiments of some of our politicians. 

However, when the probability that a foreign (Chinese) student returning for the new season, is a carrier of Coronavirus, why risk it?

I have also been told by a senior PhD at Auckland university that, “A Foreign student (yep – he meant Chinese) will pay $70k for the same degree a Kiwi will pay $30k.”

Do the sums mate.  On these figures, Chinese students are keeping our universities solvent.

But is it a good idea to let these students loose in New Zealand when there is no remedy for Coronavirus?

Health officials doing a temperature read of all inward passengers – in the plane and again at the toll gates!  Whoopee.  

These tests don’t detect, incubation period.

This means that there is no guarantee that infected students will not able to attend class, next week.

 

Ross Meurant; a former high-ranking police officer, former Member of Parliament, formerly with commercial interests in Syria and Iran and  currently Honorary Consul for an African state.

13 COMMENTS

  1. Watching China buying up face masks at a rate which exceeds supply and production!

    New Zealand dosnt manufacture masks. It buys this sort of product from China.

    Any thoughts on where we going to get this level of protection let alone vaccinations when they are invented?

  2. Please don’t call a corona virus a pox. A pox is a very different virus family, behaving totally differently.
    It just adds to misinformation.

    I’ve still yet to see enough good information as to whether or not we should shut the border to some of China and all the political and economic fallout it might entail.
    Checking temperatures at the border when the disease might incubate 7-10 days is also not going to be rewarding.
    Let’s hope health officials have a lot better information than the same few sensationalist stories we are getting over and again from our clickbait media.

    • I stand rebuked, Keepcalmcaryon, for using the generic term POX. However, I did say that I’m not a medical science graduate and also, I used the term, coronavirus

      Meanwhile, the following from our “health officials” in whom you appear to seek salvation, suggests they have finally reached a similar position to which I blogged.

      NZ Herald today says; https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12303690
      The likelihood of New Zealand getting a case of the coronavirus is “high”, says Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

      Meanwhile, China do appear to be coming clean. Their latest is: “China has also come forward with news that the virus can spread before any symptoms show. The country’s health minister Ma Xiaowei confirmed the bad news on Sunday”.

      AND
      The death toll from the 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak in China has reached 80 with hundreds of new infections detected. Meanwhile, US public health officials have confirmed new cases of the coronavirus in Los Angeles and Arizona.

      Meanwhile, it is pleasing to see NZ burocratz starting to move
      With 24 new death reported in Hubei Province – the epicenter of the outbreak – the overall death toll from the novel coronavirus in China now stands at 80, with nearly 2,800 confirmed cases countrywide.

    • I think you’ll find in the context of this article ‘pox’ is not being used as a noun but in the context as a curse I.e “a pox on both their houses”.

    • In hindsight selling The Armies Hospital trucks, medical units and purchasing old domestic AirNZ planes over something like a combination of the A330MRRT and The C-17 transport was a strategic mistake of the highest order.

  3. Testing kits are just as likely to pick everyone up with flue like symptoms so they’ll just have to put masks on. The problem is older Chinese are extremely belligerent and authorities usually give up trying to tell them what to do.

    • “The problem is older Chinese are extremely belligerent and authorities usually give up trying to tell them what to do.”

      So the racist anisemitism isn’t a bug it’s the racism that’s a feature?

  4. We should establish a quarantine camp for these students. We need to have them here to support or education system even at high school level as they pay so much both to the schools and to those that care for them. We also need to ensure all travellers from anywhere have medical insurance as I am sure it would be better a dcheaper to be ill here than many countries.

  5. From what I’ve read a Chinese citizen is 100 times more likely to die in a road accident than by the Coronavirus and a 1000 times more likely to die from heart disease and associated illness. And what happened to news on the thousands that die from malnutrition, malaria and the military every day?

  6. I agree.
    We should simply seal the border to flights from China until such time this thing clears up.
    The chinese government would not be offended, as Martyn makes out, rather they will lose far more ‘face’ if someone overseas dies of this virus. So it is more likely they would be grateful.

  7. A flu like epidemic has been warned off for many years. Meanwhile our air transport has got faster so a virulent virus could be carried around the globe in a few days.

    So whats our planning.

    Wait and see what happens?

    Sailing ships gave us time to assess illnesses plus a period of forced quarantine.

    One can speculate that air travel is the problem.

  8. According to Deagel population for 2025 New Zealand is recorded to reduce its population by 1.3 million while Australia will lose 8 million people.
    I guess it’s caused by whatever means Corona Virus, fires or maybe just Big Pharma http://pharmadeathclock.com/

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