Since the COVID-19 started to spread in January 2020, I started to get curious about how a certain contagious disease spread across the country and around the world. I have been watching movies and documentaries about pandemics and outbreaks.
After watching these movies and documentaries, it made me ponder about what is happening around the world right now. It also made me think about how one individual can be the cause of an outbreak.
One of the movies about pandemics that I like is "93 Days." It is about the spread of the Ebola virus in Lagos, Nigeria, and how it was stopped in 93 days. Amazing, huh?! Yes, I also got impressed with the quick actions done by the doctors. All in all, only 20 people got infected among that number, eight people died, including four medical workers.
After watching 93 Days, I have realized a lot of things about what's happening right now, in our fight against COVID-19. There are similarities in the issues presented in the movie which everyone can relate at the present time.
Let me enumerate my takeaways, don't worry, no spoilers here:
1. Patients lie. A lot of people got mad when their loved ones in the medical field got sick of COVID-19 after finding out that the patient didn't disclose travel history. In the movie, the index person also concealed the details from his trip to Liberia. Despite the patient's uncooperativeness, the doctors still stick to their initial impression that the person might have been contracted with the Ebola virus.
While waiting for the results, the hospital started to observe preventive protocols. The medical director of the hospital immediately reported the case and closely coordinated with the government to prevent the virus from spreading. They pressured the government to immediately do something about it to protect the 21 million residents of Lagos.
2. Doctors and the rest of the medical team are also scared for their lives. In the movie, they know that they are combatting a highly-contagious disease, but they still performed their duties until they showed symptoms. They immediately observed protocols by monitoring their temperature and isolating themselves from the family members. Once they have symptoms, they subjected themselves for a test.
Doctors, nurses, and aides are also humans. They also fear for their lives and for their loved ones getting infected too. It's hard for them to be distant to their loved ones in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
3. It's all about politics. In the movie, the index patient was a diplomat. The doctors and nurses had difficulty dealing with the patient. The patient even threatened to escape without the confirmatory results yet. The patient also asked for someone to talk to the head of the hospital to release him.
When the patient has been confirmed to be contracted with the Ebola virus, the government was a bit hesitant to take action immediately. The doctors really put pressure on the authorities with a clear intention of protecting the whole population of Lagos.
If not for the doctors, Ebola could've been a huge health problem in Nigeria.
4. The best defense for illness is being healthy. The people who got infected with the Ebola virus were able to recover because while in isolation, they closely monitored their progress and continuously take care of themselves by taking the prescribed medicines religiously and by eating healthy food. The people who died from the Ebola virus didn't take care of themselves very well even if they were asymptomatic at first.
5. The best defense for everything is prayer. The medical team prayed for their patients all the time. When some of the staff got infected with the Ebola virus, their faith in the Lord didn't change. They continued to pray to the Lord while taking care of themselves to recovery.
Our fight against COVID-19 is similar to the fight of Nigerians against the Ebola virus in 2014. Doctors, nurses, and politicians must be proactive in fighting this disease and prevent it from spreading. Everyone must be quick to decide and take the necessary actions immediately. In addition, citizens must also take precautionary measures to prevent passing the disease from one person to another. It is really a collective effort.
Now that we are in community quarantine, let us do our part in stopping the disease from infecting more people. Let us observe proper hygiene, sanitation, and social distancing. Always stay healthy and let's continue to pray for our nation and the whole world.
Take care always!
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