DAY 1318-1335

Apr 11 - 28

1) Welcome to this edition of my blog. There is nothing particularly exciting to report, other than that we have finished the last of the written exams - a 3-hour abstract paper. With that out of the way, we can focus on our actual dissertation write-ups and (hopefully) submit in time. That would be the culmination of my year as a graduate student (technically before I even have a degree), so I hope things go according to plan.

2) Meanwhile, the Fellowship continues, as my friends and I spent a good three hours watching (over the internet, of course) the second movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy - The Two Towers. Now there's just one more movie to go and the journey will be complete. And after that, we can obviously look forward to planning the Harry Potter movie-a-thon!

3) For now, the weather seems to be holding up really nicely. Temperatures have soared into the mid-20 degrees; this comes amidst warnings by the British PM Boris Johnson not to venture out, lest we lose the advantage we've gained so far by social distancing. As a future healthcare practitioner, it is a bit difficult (perhaps even baffling) for me how there are so many protesters who flout lockdown policies or dismiss them outright. It is even sadder still when some of these people think that it is not their responsibility to take care of others.

4) We have to realise that there are people out there who literally cannot protect themselves (due to advanced age, having a weak immune system, being on medication that suppresses the immune system etc). These people rely on the young, fit, and able not to simply go out and bring back this highly infectious disease. If you can't stay at home so that others may benefit, at least do it for the sake of your own family...

5) Finally, I am speechless regarding US President Donald Trump's botched handling of the situation. The Guardian quoted economist Joseph Stiglitz who likened the handling to that of a third-world country, but surely that is an insult to every other country in the world.[1] From claiming in January that everything was "under control" [2](the US now has close to a million infected - by far the country with the most cases), that it would all miraculously "disappear" (February) [2], to suggesting vaccines would be available "in the next few months" (clinical trials of vaccines would probably happen, but the vaccine itself would certainly NOT be ready) [2], to questioning the surge in demand from hospitals for protective equipment as "hoarding" or "worse than hoarding" (all without evidence) [2], to the more recent advocating of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine [3](despite initially shaky evidence for which the FDA now actually cautions against), to finally his suggesting that somehow "injecting" a disinfectant could "clean" the lungs.[4] Mix that all in with blatant racism [5] and sexism [6], and one wonders how any sane person can continue to support him.

6) It is this one man's ability to make claims without any evidence, backed by his supporters who will probably support him no matter what he says or does, that will ultimately cost the US very dearly.

7) On a side note, to all the anti-vaxxers out there, please consider that this is an example where we do not have a vaccine for just one disease. Now imagine if a few more came along.

8) I had hoped not to go on a long rant here, but I suppose some things are actually better off said. I can only hope that things take a turn for the better, and I pray that those who protest or think they "cannot get it" or that "it is just like flu" will seriously reconsider their decision. Apologies for the long post, but I've had quite a long time to think about this.

9) Thanks for visiting my blog as always, and have a nice day. Cheers!

The bubonic plaque, smallpox, leprosy, cholera, SARS, H1N1, and now Covid-19:

There has been no shortage of pandemics throughout the history of humankind.

In the future - I am sure - it will be written in the History books how we managed to overcome this unseen foe. Let us all do our part to make this a reality.

Bibliography
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/22/top-economist-us-coronavirus-response-like-third-world-country-joseph-stiglitz-donald-trump

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/28/trump-coronavirus-misleading-claims

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-cautions-against-use-hydroxychloroquine-or-chloroquine-covid-19-outside-hospital-setting-or

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-suggests-injection-disinfectant-beat-coronavirus-clean-lungs-n1191216

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/growing-wave-of-racism-and-hate-crimes-as-virus-spreads

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/us/politics/trump-women-coronavirus.html

DAY 1301-1317

Mar 25 - Apr 10

1) And so the lockdown continues. With each passing day, we hope that the epidemiological curve gradually flattens, thus reducing the burden to each country's healthcare system. The latest news in the UK (ref: The Guardian) is that it is too early to lift the lockdown, but we can expect an update earliest by end of next week. Also, it seems that social distancing measures are working, with admitted cases showing early signs of "levelling off". It is therefore important that everyone continue to stay at home and avoid the temptation of good weather (in UK) to go out unnecessarily.

2) Global pandemic aside, I've been keeping well (touchwood). As mentioned in my previous post, our class has finished an important statistics examination, as well as our clinical presentation. Originally intended to be an oral presentation, this was changed to an online presentation due to the outbreak. It was my first time using Microsoft Teams, so I was a little nervous about presenting. Fortunately, prior to the exam, my friends and I did a mock session to help each other out, and to brainstorm questions.

3) On the day of the exam, I was rudely awakened by someone's alarm in the wee hours of the morning (i.e. 5 a.m.) In retrospect, it might have been a smoke alarm or something, but it went off for almost an hour! So it wasn't the best start of the morning, but thankfully, when the exam began later, both my examiners were extremely friendly, and asked me loads of questions regarding my presentation.

4) While I was unable to answer all the questions, I did my best - and that was it! Now all that is left is an abstract exam and another essay. That leaves me quite a lot of free time. I've decided to tackle an optional essay for the AKC. The AKC series this semester has focussed on buildings, and so the topic that I've chosen to tackle for my essay is: given another AKC lecture, choose a building to talk about and why. Luckily this is an optional essay and therefore does not count towards my academic marks - I just like writing essays XD

5) And in case anyone thinks otherwise, of course I am bored in my room. Of course I *wish* that the pandemic would end soon and life can slowly return to normal - how nice that would be. But I am reminded everyday that by staying put, I am not only ensuring my own safety and welfare, but also those of others around me. And when it comes to managing large-scale pandemics like these, it is certainly better to be safe than sorry. Anyway, that's it for this edition of my blog. Thanks very much for visiting, and have a nice day. Cheers!

The hustle and bustle of the weekday markets (just imagine rows of food stalls along this street) has been replaced with absolute nothingness

People wearing masks and practicing social distancing (at least 2m from the next person) while queueing up to enter Tesco

Same place, different day :)

Signs outside Tesco regarding social distancing measures

And there's no one here

 Trying to eat healthily

 The emptiness of the streets really gets me sometimes

(on the plus side, it shows that people are adhering to the lockdown measures, which is awesome!)