Getting Technical
FS Collins
evolutionary changes it gained the ability to cause serious lifethreatening
disease and began to spread out by transmitting
from human-to-human.
Both of these possibilities propose a natural origin
for Covid-19 which Dr Collins believes is "a good thing
because it helps us keep focused on what really matters:
observing good hygiene, practicing social distancing, and
supporting the efforts of all the dedicated health-care
professionals and researchers who are working so hard to
address this major public health challenge".
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph, D
One further positive step in the current Covid-19 saga is that
New Zealand appears to have won the battle against the
virus after health officials stated that the last-known infected
person had recovered.
Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said that New Zealand
had halted the spread of the virus but she cautioned against
over-confidence. "We are confident we have eliminated
transmission of the virus in New Zealand for now, but
elimination is not a point in time, it is a sustained effort,"
she said at a news conference. "We almost certainly will
see cases here again, and I do want to say that again, we
will almost certainly see cases here again, and that is not a
sign that we have failed, it is a reality of this virus. But if and
when that occurs, we have to make sure—and we are—that
we are prepared."
Although there are still some restrictive border regulations,
commentators have noted that two main factors have helped
New Zealand. These are its isolated location in the South
Pacific which gave it vital time to note the devastating spread
of the virus in other countries and the decisive action by
Ardern in imposing a strict lockdown early in the outbreak.
Hopefully this achievement by New Zealand will spur on other
countries to achieve similar successes. RACA
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RACA Journal I September 2020
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