Alice in Wonderland

A mannequin in a lace mask is displayed in a shop window in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: Sputnik/Stringer.

Immune system

A woman wearing a facemask sits on a bench near in 南京 (Nánjīng), east China’s 江苏省 (Jiāngsū province). The novel coronavirus outbreak was assessed yesterday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “a controllable pandemic”, provided each country shows its ability to uphold “a fine balance between protecting health, preventing economic and social disruption, and respecting human rights”. Photo: Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images.

Canticle of the Creatures

A protective mask has been put on the face of a statue of Italy’s patron saint, Francis of Assisi, in San Fiorano, Italy. Photo: Marzio Toniolo/via Reuters.

All the Way Up

A couple wearing “anti-coronavirus” masks rides on an escalator at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters.

Too Much, Too Little, Too Early, Too Late

Nemo propheta in patria. 上海市卫生健康委员会 (Shànghǎi Health Commission) ordered to close for “rectification” the laboratory which first isolated and fine-tuned the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus. The shutdown was apparently due to the fact that the researchers’ team coordinated by Professor 张永振 (Zhāng Yǒngzhèn) published online the data of their discovery — which actually helped scientists develop diagnostic kits for the virus — before being authorised by government authorities. In fact, the publication dates back to January 11, 9 days before Chinese President 习近平 (Xí Jìnpíng)’s first official public acknowledgment of the novel coronavirus outbreak. As they say, “a queen is never late. Everyone else is simply early”.

The Hunger Games

Empty shelves at a supermarket in Pioltello, Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, at the epicentre of Italy’s novel coronavirus outbreak. Flavio Lo Scalzo/Reuters.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

• Swee Kheng Khor, MySay: In a war between species, we must understand and harness fear, The Edge Malaysia, February 18, 2020

Viruses have no passports, citizenships, nationalities or identities. The quicker we can harness our fears and change our mindsets away from “us versus foreigners” to “humans versus viruses”, the quicker we can make bold political choices to save ourselves from this outbreak and prepare for the next one. [Read more].