This article contains:
The "Silent Spreaders" of Coronavirus
Guidelines for the Reopening of Cinemas and Schools
The "Silent Spreaders" of Coronavirus
Written By: Nayada Deevisetpunt
As more information concerning the coronavirus is being known each day, scientists are now discovering some evidence on some strange features of the virus. It is known that people infected with this virus would show symptoms like coughing, having fever, or even losing taste and smell. Researchers now, however, found that individuals could be wandering around carrying the coronavirus despite not showing or having any symptoms at all. These people are known as “silent spreaders”; researchers mention that it is very important to understand that many people are affected this way, thus “fuelling” the pandemic even further.
An example of “silent spreaders” comes from a couple who travelled from Wuhan to attend a church in Singapore. The couple seemed very healthy and showed no symptoms of the virus as they entered the church. Therefore, most people believed that there would be no chance of the spreading of the disease. However, shortly after the couple left the church, the wife started to become sick. The husband then gradually became ill two days later and three local people from the church also became ill a week later, showing that this virus could be passed among people, whether or not they have symptoms. This leaves Dr. Vernon Lee, head of communicable diseases at Singapore’s Ministry of Health, in a perplexed situation since these new cases do not go along according to what was known about the coronavirus before.
As a result, Dr. Lee and his scientists decided to take some action and generated detailed maps that could show the places and time of people. This process is called contact tracing, a system used to track down everyone involved in an outbreak. According to the 191 members of the church the investigators had spoken to, 142 of them had attended the church on that same day. In fact, two locals who were infected had been in the same service as the couple coming from Wuhan. However, Dr. Lee is still questioning how the virus transmitted across individuals when the couple had not shown any indication of having the virus at that moment. Moreover, the third infected Singaporean attended another event later on that day, so how did the virus actually get to them?
Investigators then decided to go through the CCTV, and found that the third infected Singaporean who attended later sat on the same seat as the couple several hours earlier. It is very clear now that despite showing any symptoms, people could still spread the coronavirus to one another. After collecting many pieces of information, Dr. Lee concluded that the only possible explanation was that “the virus was being passed by people who had it without even realising”. The health advice on COVID-19 has always been to look out for symptoms in oneself; however, Dr. Lee’s investigations show that this might not always be the case.
Guidelines for the Reopening of Cinemas and Schools
Written By: Pimtawan Jatupornpakdee
Due to the COVID-19 world wide crisis, many businesses were forced to close down. As part of phase 3 of the emergency decree the government had enacted, cinemas are allowed to open once again in Thailand. Not only cinemas, but the government is also considering the reopening of schools. Still, we cannot be assured about the current situation. There will be strict guidelines for citizens to follow after the reopening of these two places.
The majority of the Thai citizens have been stuck in quarantine for at least a month, and people are striving to leave their house. One of the common entertainment places for people to visit is the cinema. On June 1, cinemas will be allowed to reopen their business after a long break. Now, people can gradually return to their normal lives again, but it is not that simple. There are six guidelines for customers to follow in order to enter the cinema.
The first one is that no food or drink is allowed inside the theater.
Second is that customers have to wear masks at all times while viewing the movie.
Thirdly, film festivals and non-stop screenings are prohibited.
Fourthly, the maximum number of people that can be seated next to each other is two customers. There has to be at least three seats between each group of customers.
Fifthly, cinemas have to be cleaned and sanitized after every movie.
Lastly, the cinema staff will be enforcing the rules closely.
The cinema is an entertainment place that is not required for people to visit, but the school is. Every child has to be well-educated even in this situation. The Public Health Minister announced that schools can reopen on July 1 in areas that are infection-free. Like cinemas, schools also have six guidelines that students and staff have to strictly follow.
Firstly, there has to be a screen checkpoint on every school entrance to check for fever. Furthermore, everyone should wear face masks and wash their hands frequently. Gel alcohol should also be accessible in schools.
Secondly, in regard to social distancing, a classroom should only have up to 20-25 students. Schools that have 40 students per class should find ways to adjust to this guideline such as dividing the class in half and alternate between online school and live school. Students and teachers should be suitable for both ways of teaching, so no student’s education would be obstructed.
Thirdly, disabled students should also be given the same opportunities for education.
Fourthly, for students whose family have fallen ill from the virus or are suspected of having the virus, staff members must make sure that the students are not being excluded.
Fifthly, additions or innovations have to be made to the school’s infrastructure to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Lastly, a sum of money is involved to make all these guidelines possible, so this can increase burden for both schools and parents. Schools have to make sure they are financially supported for these guidelines before reopening.
It has been a rough time for everyone these past months, but governments are finding ways to adapt to this new situation. The reopening of these two places is proof that we are one step closer to our normal life.
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