Book Review… Covid-19: The Resilient Foe

Oct 18, 2020 Book Review…, News

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Book: Oriental Ghost: Tales of the Coronavirus
Author: Canute B. White
Critic: Glenville Ashby, PhD

With a second wave of the Covid-19 virus upon a nervous world, Canute B. White’s ‘Oriental Ghost’ is timely and aptly titled. Not unlike the mysterious perturbations wrought by discarnate beings, Covid-19 has challenged the brightest and most fearless among us. ‘Oriental Ghost’ is a well-documented treatise with multiple references from scientists, public officials and media. Outside of statistics and intriguing accounts of the public’s reaction to the virus, White does not offer anything new in terms of epidemiology value. However, what he does brilliantly is showcase the nature of the human psyche under strain, a strain that splits the mind, forcing us to view the epidemic in stark, binary terms.
In psychodynamic terms, this splitting reflects our inability to integrate the experience. We view Covid-19 either as a plague of portentous proportions, a harbinger of the end or, as a natural pause, as a time to recalibrate, to reset and heal.
Amid fear, White sees a burgeoning culture of altruism, stating, “although political rhetoric around the world has not waned drastically, governments have become more conscientious about the welfare of the people.”
But no doubt, we encounter irrational and self-serving behaviour. “There were reports of discrimination against individuals believed to be infected…discrimination in communities, families, and even in some healthcare facilities across the world,” White writes.
He later revisits the case of a pregnant woman who was refused care because she showed signs of the virus. “The hospital reportedly tried to transfer the lady to other hospitals without success, as these other hospitals also refused the patient. She eventually died during childbirth at a hospital that had accepted the transfer…leading to a public outcry on social media and talk shows, condemning the alleged neglect of the hospitals.”
And “afraid of being infected, patients suffering with heart attacks, strokes, chest pains, inflamed appendixes, and other non Covid-19 illnesses, no longer visited the hospital, a phenomenon observed in the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, and China. Some doctors referred to this ill-advised measure as a silent epidemic.”
Economically, the concept of splitting is also very present.
White cites American economist and former undersecretary for international affairs, Larry Summers, who predicted global economic decline, higher taxes, increased unemployment and a likely economic depression among poor nations if they are not rescued by wealthier states.
While the economic fallout is unnerving, a recent Business Insider article, ‘How Billionaires got $637 Billion Richer during the Coronavirus Pandemic,’ clearly validates the ‘splitting’ argument.
Poignant is White’s recall of an event in Jamaica where reason surrendered to irrationality.
“There is the belief that the disease was transmittable through animal contact, in particular from dogs. It was reported in April 2020, through the media, that a few individuals in various communities were seen feeding their dogs to crocodiles.
“There was also the migration of people to districts with a low infection rate causing massive traffic congestion and chaos.”
On a global level there was a “rush on supermarkets [that] defeated the policy of social distancing.”
On the reaction of the scientific world, White documents, “CBSN reported that on May 5, 2020, experts were training dogs in the United States to sniff out coronavirus cases, with an aim to use the animals in crowded areas within six months…these dogs were the first trainees in the University of Pennsylvania study to explore the possibility of dogs being able to detect odors associated with coronavirus.” Also, “researchers from Harvard School of Public Health reported that the United States may need to continue the social distancing policy until 2021, unless there is a vaccine for the virus.”
White also referred to reports that “in May 2020 there were [already] 110 potential COVID vaccines being developed worldwide, and it was alluded that only vaccines could save the global economy during the era of coronavirus.”
Notably, White chronicles deadly pandemics that bear like symptoms but are etiologically unique. He recounts, “Pandemics are not new, as historians believe that the first one occurred in 1510, infecting Asia, Africa, Europe, and the New World. There were also approximately 16 other pandemics between 1700 and 1900. However, after the Spanish Flu, (Albert) Marrin [who proposed the broader context theory] suggested that vigilance against future pandemics had to be achieved through focus on the 1918 pandemic.”
Probingly, White concludes, “Is the coronavirus really a form of flu virus that gave people a deadly flu and not merely a disease of another type with flu-like symptoms?”
Clearly, ‘Oriental Ghost’ is a reminder that foresight is a desideratum of good public policy.
White indicates that “many countries had watched for almost two months before taking strict actions to control the spread of the virus, which the World Health Organization (WHI) declared a pandemic in March 13, 2020.”
Not unexpectedly, the virus unleashed political maelstroms. White pens, “Many countries were facing partisan elections campaign atmosphere during or after COVID-19. As a result, governments were undeniably judged by the handling of the epidemic. How well the epidemic was controlled by each political administration around the world would determine whether that administration remained in power. Additionally, opposing political parties had orchestrated defeating utterances and strategically used the failures of governmental administration to handle the pandemic to gain political mileage.”
But such shenanigans by politicians will only stymie effective, timely and collaborative solutions. Arguably, Covid-19 might have revealed, above all else, the uncomely side of human nature.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Feedback: [email protected] or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby
Oriental Ghost: Tales of Coronavirus by Canute White
Copyright © 2020 Canute B. Wright

Publisher: Palmetto Publishing Group
www.PalmeroPublishingGroup.com
ISBN – 13:978-1-64111-978-0
Available at Amazon
Ratings: ****Recommended

 

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