Only the stupid knows

What is the right way to handle the Coronavirus crisis and assure the citizens’ health? Only the stupid have no doubts, and you will find the answer (about the stupid) at the bottom of the post. But first, let’s hear first what some authoritative sources have to say.

THE LANCET (one of the most prestigious scientific journals): “[T]there are important lessons that presidents and prime ministers can learn from China's experience. The signs are that those lessons have not been learned. […] So far, evidence suggests that the colossal public health efforts of the Chinese Government have saved thousands of lives. High-income countries [like the Netherlands], now facing their own outbreaks, must take reasoned risks and act more decisively. They must abandon their fears of the negative short-term public and economic consequences that may follow from restricting public freedoms as part of more assertive infection control measures.” (emphasis added)

WHO (World Health Organisation): “Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled. The challenge for many countries who are now dealing with large clusters or community transmission is not whether they can do the same – it’s whether they will. […] We are grateful for the measures being taken in Iran, Italy and the Republic of Korea to slow the virus and control their epidemics. We know that these measures are taking a heavy toll on societies and economies, just as they did in China.”

Now, let’s see the Dutch point of view.

ISA HELSLOOT: “Italy, for example, is simply busy in a stupid manner. They [the Italians] are making sure that the social life comes to a standstill by enforcing isolation. Later the Coronavirus decreases but the Italian economy will be flat on its ass. Then there won’t be any money for the health care system, and it will take years to be back on track.”

Isa Helsloot is a mathematician who teaches “Governance of Safety and Security” at the Radboud University, but he doesn’t disdain to analyse the Italian situation, acting as an expert of foreign health care systems (specialty which is not mentioned on his CV) with a colourful language and a strong concern about the economy which, in his priority list, seems to be more important than people’s lives. But people are not numbers, and this might be hard to understand for someone who got a doctorate in Mathematics. Being too much concerned about the economy is the wrong, inhuman approach to the problem, as The Lancet journal and the World Health Organisation have pointed out. However, saving the economy seems to be also the main concern of the Dutch Prime Minister Rutte, who calls for press conferences to tell people they shouldn’t shake hands – when he was the first one who didn’t manage to respect that rule and was caught shaking hands a few minute later in front of the cameras. “We are a strong little people and we do not expect symbolic measures” said Premier Rutte. But what is more symbolic that banning handshakes? In the meantime, the health authorities have declared that Coronavirus is characterised as Pandemic and the United States have blocked all the inbound flights from Europe. Some leaders are truly concerned, some leaders are taking serious measures, and Rutte’s answer is an elbow poke, the same elbow where he has suggested to sneeze.

The truth is that the Dutch economy, unlike the Italian, might be already in the brink of disaster, because it heavily relies on the tertiary sector (banks, insurances, financial services, real estate) and transportation industry (KLM, Schiphol). On the contrary, Italy produces superb design: cars, high-tech military equipment, medical equipment, and it exports excellence products in the field of gastronomy, luxury and fashion, which are highly desired around the globe.

But Isa Helsloot not only claims that the Dutch reaction to the Coronavirus is good, he even claims that it’s the only way to go, the best of all possible responses; his reasoning is based on the arrogant assumption that the Dutch protocol is more efficient than any factual and empirical evidence, like the way the Chinese people fought the virus, which has been proven to be very effective instead. Italians are just copying what worked out for China, and this is at least the wisest, speculation-free approach. The question remains: who was the stupid in this story? I guess the readers might have come up with their own ideas.

SOURCES

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30522-5/fulltext?fbclid=IwAR0dw_fmyRlfU59CMt-u_RakFBybYr9zQi3EcgWN6lUfhxqBq-XvwC0ChXk

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30522-5

https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020

"Itali? bijvoorbeeld, is nu gewoon ongelooflijk dom bezig", stelt Helsloot. "Ze zorgen door de isolatie dat de eigen samenleving tot stilstand komt. Straks is het coronavirus uitgeroeid, maar ligt de Italiaanse economie op z'n gat. Dan is er geen geld meer voor gezondheidszorg en dat zal het jaren duren voor je erboven komt".

“Wij zijn een nuchter volkje en zitten niet te wachten op symboolmaatregelen”.

https://nos.nl/artikel/2326736-crisis-experts-onze-corona-aanpak-is-goed-communicatie-kan-beter.html

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/ira-helsloot-8010282b/