BREAKING: BRITISH PM TESTS POSITIVE TO COVID-19

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Mar 27, 2020, 8:08:29 AM3/27/20
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The British PM Boris Johnson has tested positive to the coronavirus and is self- isolating at Downing Street.

OAA



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K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu

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Mar 27, 2020, 11:00:45 AM3/27/20
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OAA,

May be if Boris Johnson had agreed with his scientists and started social distancing (or what you—OAA called over-reaction) several weeks earlier instead of this week given what was happening in Italy and Spain, he would have been spared of contracting coronavirus and UK would have been better off.

 

It is perplexing to me that leaders believe that airborne pandemic will spare their countries in this day of frequent travels especially in EU with open borders. Sometimes, it feels like the world chose this singular time to elect “know-it-all” leaders that lack wisdom and will not listen to scientists and does not really believe in science. God help all of us.

 

We need not be scared, but individually and collectively, we need to take measures to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Please stay safe in this challenging time.

 

All the best,

Gozie

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Mar 27, 2020, 11:50:42 AM3/27/20
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Gozie.

There is no substitute for cool headedness in times of crisis.  Johnson could not have started social distancing his cabinet colleagues when there was no need to.  Trump did not, Buhari did not.

No one ever said said any country is exempt from COVID-19.  As experience has shown the effects on every country differ.

All the time you would think Johnson folded his arms he already ordered three and a half million testing kits which arrived this week. 

The amount of strategic planning and timing of the phasing in of each intervention caused the whole of the UK to give the NHS a standing ovation for a job well done last night at 8pm from their homes.

OAA



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K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu

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Mar 27, 2020, 3:00:11 PM3/27/20
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OAA,

1.      The world knew about the pandemic in late December and by January 23rd China locked down Wuhan region and most of China. That was an extreme reaction but needed. Competent leadership demands that leaders stay ahead of the masses and lead and not just follow polls. The essence of competent leadership is to make hard choices that may not be popular but has the highest potential for good in the long run.

 

2.      Yes, Boris Johnson, Mr. Trump, and Mr. Buhari like a lot of other leaders folded their hands hoping (and praying) that they will not have to make hard choices. Mr. Johnson should have ordered test kits in early February or shortly after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. I assume that his intelligent agencies passed the information to him and his cabinet and if the vaunted MI5/MI6 did not have that information, then the whole lot should be disbanded and reconstituted.

 

3.      The experience is similar for all countries that handled COVID-19 similarly. Those that took early action including encouraging social distancing and started testing early has had much better results than those that waited.

 

4.      As scientists including Dr. Fauci (Director CDC) continue to insist, political leaders have to get ahead of the curve not behind it.

 

a.       “….what I like to see is when people look at what we’re doing and say you’re overreacting. For me, the dynamics and the history of outbreaks is you are never where you think you are with the… if you think you’re in line with the outbreak, you’re already three weeks behind. So you got to be almost over-reacting a bit to keep up with it.”—Dr. Anthony Fauci

 

5.      NIH should be given a standing ovation for their speed in responding when the political leadership gave them the go ahead. However, giving NIH standing ovation is not the same as giving Mr. Johnson a standing ovation. NIH can only act at the direction and “speed” of the political leadership of UK.

 

Stay safe.

 

Gozie

 

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of OLAYINKA AGBETUYI
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2020 10:14 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - BREAKING: BRITISH PM TESTS POSITIVE TO COVID-19

 

Gozie.

 

1.      There is no substitute for cool headedness in times of crisis.  Johnson could not have started social distancing his cabinet colleagues when there was no need to.  Trump did not, Buhari did not.

 

2.      No one ever said said any country is exempt from COVID-19.  As experience has shown the effects on every country differ.

 

3.      All the time you would think Johnson folded his arms he already ordered three and a half million testing kits which arrived this week. 

 

4.      The amount of strategic planning and timing of the phasing in of each intervention caused the whole of the UK to give the NHS a standing ovation for a job well done last night at 8pm from their homes.

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Mar 27, 2020, 5:04:45 PM3/27/20
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Gozie:

Mr. Johnson was the overall Boss who co-ordinated the National Health Service (NHS) response.

Testing kits were ordered immediately WHO declared a pandemic.

Apart from China which countries ordered social distancing early?  And did China order social distancing in the whole of China?

I'm confident the response of the leadership of the UK is appropriate.  The people gave their verdict last night.

If they are not complaining why should we?

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: "K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu" <kgi...@austin.rr.com>
Date: 27/03/2020 19:01 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - BREAKING:  BRITISH PM TESTS POSITIVETO  COVID-19

Boxbe This message is eligible for Automatic Cleanup! (kgi...@austin.rr.com) Add cleanup rule | More info

OAA,

1.      The world knew about the pandemic in late December and by January 23rd China locked down Wuhan region and most of China. That was an extreme reaction but needed. Competent leadership demands that leaders stay ahead of the masses and lead and not just follow polls. The essence of competent leadership is to make hard choices that may not be popular but has the highest potential for good in the long run.

 

2.      Yes, Boris Johnson, Mr. Trump, and Mr. Buhari like a lot of other leaders folded their hands hoping (and praying) that they will not have to make hard choices. Mr. Johnson should have ordered test kits in early February or shortly after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. I assume that his intelligent agencies passed the information to him and his cabinet and if the vaunted MI5/MI6 did not have that information, then the whole lot should be disbanded and reconstituted.

 

3.      The experience is similar for all countries that handled COVID-19 similarly. Those that took early action including encouraging social distancing and started testing early has had much better results than those that waited.

 

4.      As scientists including Dr. Fauci (Director CDC) continue to insist, political leaders have to get ahead of the curve not behind it.

 

a.       “….what I like to see is when people look at what we’re doing and say you’re overreacting. For me, the dynamics and the history of outbreaks is you are never where you think you are with the… if you think you’re in line with the outbreak, you’re already three weeks behind. So you got to be almost over-reacting a bit to keep up with it.”—Dr. Anthony Fauci

 

5.      NIH should be given a standing ovation for their speed in responding when the political leadership gave them the go ahead. However, giving NIH standing ovation is not the same as giving Mr. Johnson a standing ovation. NIH can only act at the direction and “speed” of the political leadership of UK.

 

Stay safe.

 

Gozie

 

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of OLAYINKA AGBETUYI


Sent: Friday, March 27, 2020 10:14 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - BREAKING: BRITISH PM TESTS POSITIVE TO COVID-19

 

Gozie.

 

1.      There is no substitute for cool headedness in times of crisis.  Johnson could not have started social distancing his cabinet colleagues when there was no need to.  Trump did not, Buhari did not.

 

2.      No one ever said said any country is exempt from COVID-19.  As experience has shown the effects on every country differ.

 

3.      All the time you would think Johnson folded his arms he already ordered three and a half million testing kits which arrived this week. 

 

4.      The amount of strategic planning and timing of the phasing in of each intervention caused the whole of the UK to give the NHS a standing ovation for a job well done last night at 8pm from their homes.

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
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K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu

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Mar 27, 2020, 6:20:32 PM3/27/20
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OAA,

Please see your fearless and “wise” leader Boris Johnson three weeks ago on March/03 thus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3NAx3tsy-k

 

And here is the other “wise” leader describing coronavirus as democrat hoax:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5TZ6fTYrsE

 

And here is what a true science based leader should sound like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A71lfXrQlxU

 

On or about Jan/23, China looked down Hubie Province (60M people) and completely shut-down Wuhan (11M people) with absolutely no entries or exits. The rest of China was in near total lockdown from Jan/23 until Feb/24. Most of the factories were not allowed to reopen until about Feb/24. Those are the facts about China. Today, Italy with population of about 60M has more coronavirus deaths than China with a population of 1.3B and US at 360M people has more coronavirus cases than China. What US and the rest of the world does next about coronavirus pandemic will matter. The “know-it-all” leaders can chose to shortcut the on-going shutdown process against the advice of their scientists and the world will pay for that.

 

Timely and courageous leadership matters.

 

I am typically silent in this list-serve, but with lives at stake, everyone is obligated to speak up to correct mistaken statements that are not backed up by science.

 

Please stay safe.

Harrow, Kenneth

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Mar 27, 2020, 11:02:26 PM3/27/20
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well, i mostly agree with gozie, but if i may ask, where do you live? i wonder if you can speak to your experience about living where you've been confined to home.  or others might do so.
i live in east lansing, michigan. we've been shut in for about a week or so by the governor. if you look at a map of the country, you will find some places like s dakota, a vast state, with 49 or so cases. you don't shut the state down for that. my state is a catastrophe. most of the roughly 3000 cases are in the greater detroit region, the eastern end of the state., every day i open the local paper to see our own local greater lansing region, of about 480,000 pop. with the case load doubling. we have only 33 now. but our fear of being within reach of anyone else, when we go out, is very palpable. not for everyone: young kids violate the 6 foot rule. but we can't go out except for food, doctoring, or emergencies, or to take a walk.

my understanding is that in wuhan you didn't go out. you could order out for food, but not leave the apartment or complex. we might start avoiding grocery store shopping soon--my wife and i are both in the higher risk category--but the line between observing the governor's order or fudging on it is unclear, and many people violate it. today we walked around the block, and there were 2-3 adults and 2-3 kids on the playground, playing together. a crazy violation, but no one to stop them.
in italy that would be stopped, and in china it wouldn't have happened. here i look on disapprovingly, but still, i don't doubt it continues daily.

maybe the u.k. is doing a good job now. it is ironic to read about johnson, or our senator rand paul who poo-pooed the whole danger, and is now infected.
my point is simply that when it comes to enforcement there is a human factor, which results in different outcomes. if we lived in the middle of detroit, where the death count is rising exponentially, i would have spoken up at the playground. but in lansing, we're not yet at that point, and my yelling would have been viewed as inappropriate.
ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu <kgi...@austin.rr.com>
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2020 6:06 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

Michael Afolayan

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Mar 28, 2020, 9:14:37 AM3/28/20
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I agree, Ken, this is great perspective from Gozie. "Prevention is better than cure" is no cliché here. It is an objective reality, and from what we are hearing, China seems to be shoulder higher than all other nations on this score. However, having said all that, we are only operating on the assumption that information coming from China is real. We better take all that with a grain of salt. Who knows how many Chinese are being cremated by the hour while the world is being beaten the drum of gallantry coming from Beijing? No idea!  Where is the Chinese CNN to challenge "staged" information or the Washington Post and New York Times to risk their journalists confronting myths of governance? Few, if any, exist. We've heard nothing from Russia and a few other countries with "iron men" leadership, and we assume they are off the list of the COVID-19 aerial and terrestrial assaults. I hope my "conspiracy theory" is just that and nothing true to it.

As for the leaderships with ignorant mind, the good thing about this COVID-19 is that is is an equal opportunity employer; it has not left its skeptics untouched, regardless of their social statuses. Thankfully, there has not been fatality from their rank, but that, too, will come if their "Thomas' spirit" continues to guide and guard their attitudes to the inimical guest they are welcoming into their spaces. As the Yoruba would say, they seem to be "scratching their noses with the fang of the venomous adder."

To respond to Ken's inquiry as to the experience of a confined living, I am in Milwaukee. The entire county is on lockdown. Most deaths in the State are from Milwaukee County and the victims are all black in crowded neighborhoods, so far. We could go for groceries, but was I scared at Cosco yesterday when the parking lot was bare and the store was technically empty! We could go for a walk but each time I did it, I (sometimes with my wife) was a lone ranger in a middle-class neighborhood.  It's something else.

My point: This coronavirus is not funny. Please tell me it's not true!

Michael O. Afoláyan







OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Mar 28, 2020, 2:33:57 PM3/28/20
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Gozie.

No one is trying to shut you up but you need to consider the trapeze on which national leaders walk and give them credit for that.  They have to prepare for the long haul if that is needed but they have to make sure the economy doesn't collapse under their watch with the despondency of the stake holders in the market places so all stocks lose their total value.  This is where I credit he allied blusterers Trump and Boris Johnson. 

Before the end of February both leaders said we need to prepare for the long haul with one saying one and a half years and the other saying two years based on the scientific advice they received.  

As soon as the stock market starting reacting to that and shares started losing value economic advisers asked them to start ' talking the economy up' again.  That was why you had Trump blaming the Democrats and changing tack till last week that America would be out of danger by April.  Its to rally the stock market else hunger will claim more victims than coronavirus.  You then had Johnson premising his lockdown with a May review and that is where Dr Fauci comes in; he has no country to lead and the impact of what he says on the market does not concern him.  

Trump and Johnson have to prepare for the worst while hoping for (and rallying for) the best.

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: "K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu" <kgi...@austin.rr.com>
Date: 27/03/2020 22:33 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - BREAKING:  BRITISH PM TESTSPOSITIVETO   COVID-19

Boxbe This message is eligible for Automatic Cleanup! (kgi...@austin.rr.com) Add cleanup rule | More info

OAA,

Please see your fearless and “wise” leader Boris Johnson three weeks ago on March/03 thus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3NAx3tsy-k

 

And here is the other “wise” leader describing coronavirus as democrat hoax:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5TZ6fTYrsE

 

And here is what a true science based leader should sound like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A71lfXrQlxU

 

On or about Jan/23, China looked down Hubie Province (60M people) and completely shut-down Wuhan (11M people) with absolutely no entries or exits. The rest of China was in near total lockdown from Jan/23 until Feb/24. Most of the factories were not allowed to reopen until about Feb/24. Those are the facts about China. Today, Italy with population of about 60M has more coronavirus deaths than China with a population of 1.3B and US at 360M people has more coronavirus cases than China. What US and the rest of the world does next about coronavirus pandemic will matter. The “know-it-all” leaders can chose to shortcut the on-going shutdown process against the advice of their scientists and the world will pay for that.

 

Timely and courageous leadership matters.

 

I am typically silent in this list-serve, but with lives at stake, everyone is obligated to speak up to correct mistaken statements that are not backed up by science.

 

Please stay safe.

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
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Emmanuel Udogu

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Mar 28, 2020, 5:41:08 PM3/28/20
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Here is hoping that these political leaders (Johnson and Trump), or in democratic theory political servants, have not in the quest to pursue their self-interest fallen victim to the British or English idiom “penny wise and pound foolish.” The penalty for not acting swiftly as did China on this pandemic has cost America's lawmakers $2 trillion so far—not to mention the calamity of the stock market to investors (leaving most scratching their head). Many observers and economists suggest that it might even cost more in the battle to defeat the coronavirus.  Perhaps Africa has some lessons to learn from this development.

Ike Udogu


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Harrow, Kenneth

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Mar 28, 2020, 6:01:02 PM3/28/20
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china did not act swiftly on this either. remember the doctor who tried to alert the public, was charged by police, and then died? they got off to a rocky start, just like us, but when they decided to act, finally, were very decisive, and probably effective
k

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Emmanuel Udogu <udo...@appstate.edu>
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2020 4:58 PM
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Gloria Emeagwali

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Mar 29, 2020, 9:36:40 AM3/29/20
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That is true Ken but when you are the first to be overwhelmed by a lethal virus 🦠, you are less advantaged than others after you. The US had at least two weeks notice,  and  maybe more ............   The Chinese treatment of the first whistle - blower doctor was despicable, however.

GE

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