Package Insert

With respect to the health, safety and well-being of ourselves and others, it is advisable — if only for civic duty — to take a look, with regular cadence, at the World Health Organisation’s “Mythbusters” page, which aims at refuting the relentless “infodemic” of COVID-19 misinformation. Indeed, facts can be disarming when presented as an “anti-narrative” of a narrative filled with viral rhetoric. For instance, I quote, “FACT: Thermal scanners CANNOT detect COVID-19”. Of course, there may be many causes for fever, not only COVID-19. So why to generalise? Not well, in too many places there are too many signs reading “If you have fever you are not allowed”, but “If you have a toothache with a fever you are welcome” certainly sounds fairer. Another advice which I would quote is, “FACT: People should NOT wear masks while exercising”, as — quite obviously — in such instances surgical masks may make breathing more difficult. “The important preventive measure during exercise is to maintain physical distance of at least one meter from others”. Last but not least, I’ll quote one more, so as not to eclipse the light of a relative truth: “FACT: There are no medicines that can prevent or treat COVID-19”. So be healthy, keep your immune system up, and enjoy your reading!