MEDICAL MARTIAL LAW IS NOT A FICTION

HAS CORONA AN EBOLA POTENTIAL?

 

“ When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease. ”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, Quarantine Speech (5 October 1937)

 

Martin woke up earlier as usually. It was 6 am and he was tired but something  disturbed his dreams, something creepy that crawled into his soul and made him feel strange. This 40-year-old man from New York City should have been at work, latest at 9 am and he should have driven his children into school, in the meantime. His wife, Kate, starts with work in local cell phone shop at 8 am and she has enough time to prepare kids and bring their dog Timmy for the morning walk. The life dynamic is always the same, nobody complains and nobody changes it….till this morning , when  Martin Ferrel is informed that the American Government has stated Medical Martial Law due to the dangerous infectious disease outbreak. The old, good life of routine is away, welcome to the world of unknown microbes, scary regulations from authorities and misty future. The quarantined life  is the reality now, not only for Ferrel Family but for all others. Everything has been changed only because one little bug decided to visit happy people, in their urban greedy, instant universe and to remind them that strength is not in size.

This is just a futuristic scenario but not so fictional as it looks like at the first sight. In the age of emerging diseases and local epidemics that have character to turn into pandemics, the daily glossary is empowered with the discussions about  quarantine, in spite of fact that many people don’t really understand the meaning of it and the circumstances under it could be deviated, claimed or implemented. According to experts, the quarantine is an ancient tool that is used to prevent the spread of dangerous infectious disease. This measure has been used since early Bible days and the time of leprosy, through the devastating age of Black Death and to the modern infectious diseases, that have been zoonotic and highly contagious.  The quarantine itself means reducing mobility of those who are sick and also those who may be sick, after the certain period of time or incubation. If quarantine is managed in the right way, without any sign of abuse or manipulation of power, it is a good weapon in the battle against outbreaks. The quarantine is simply a successful attempt of civilisation to show or at least to overcome control at the moment when stealth micro enemies try to put the whole world into the anarchy and mood of panic.  What is very important to understand the differences between isolation, quarantine and Medical Martial Law. These are all necessary steps, the gradation of epidemical crisis and  accordingly chosen epidemical  and political measures that target public health.

The Isolation is a first level of limitation of the ill person mobility, in order to stop disease transmission. It could be done in hospital but it could be also implemented in home conditions. The quarantine is not the upgrade of isolation but the separation of the healthy people who have been exposed to the infectious diseases, as long as they are under incubation. After the period of incubation, they will be marked as healthy with negative results on the disease or sick and put under isolation. In the last time, because of media, the definition of quarantine is used for well persons under testing and for sick people under mobility restriction.  The both of them are limited and isolated, but under the different circumstances. The Medical Martial Law is the highest level of epidemical organisation on the ground, powered by official governing and military support. This kind of martial law is usually the last choice in the emergency situations, when the epidemics is pandemics and the global public health is at risk to be ruined. At the moment when one state declares the Medical Martial Law, this means that all other means are tried and failed and that is the only way to form and control the quarantine, lead the screening protocols of viral diseases and control the infected, potentially infected and those who are still with zero % of the illness. This special type of Martial law is actually the killing of human rights with the purpose to enable or to rescue the rest of biosafety. If you want to survive, you don’t think too much about your rights, unless you are sick, think you could die and your government will kill you if you try to escape your own hot zone.

Do you have some gateways if that is reality tomorrow ? Unfortunately, even the epidemics relays on politics and if the government believes you are sick, you will be processed as sick and put under forced quarantine. If you try to confront it and mention your rights, you will be addressed like a threat to the public health and the existence of Posse Comitatus Act just make it all easier for the structure of power ( the case of United States ).  What you could do ? Provide your basement with food and hygienic components with the hope that it wont be your scenario. That is lunatic, isn’t it ? I found the current Corona madness like the result of exaggerated media reporting. The people aren’t informed, they are manipulated and opinionated. You could think they are convinced they are almost sick even if they are completely healthy. Something must be weird in our global society when the mass is jumping into supermarkets and buy toilet paper and the canned foods. Maybe they feel better if their stock if full and in the case of isolation, they are provided with basic needs. This  is global trend that is occurring in America, Europe or Australia. I believe that other continents are not so westernized and in doomsday preparation like Americans, Europeans and Australians. I guess it is too much Hollywood influence and less common sense and appropriate source of information. The 80% of people live under panic adrenaline because of Corona epidemics while 20% of people are making jokes and don’t believe they will get it and even if they do, they are sure they will solve it somehow. It is life. Not all of us are reacting the same and that is also allowed but I am wondering why global media is focused on making fear instead of giving logical explanations. Even if something is really bad and dangerous, there is always a way to express it in the way that will keep people alerted but not insane.

I always try to compare Coronavirus  with Ebola virus, like Alien vs. Predator. Whoever wins, we will lose.  The both have killing potential but Ebola is killing with no mistake, with no mercy and with no second chance. The Corona is giving you a chance or at least, you can find a way out. Many did and some didn’t but just think rationally what Virus Influenza is doing every year and it is still not recognised as this  virus hoped for. Somehow, the Influenza is the part of our modern and fast life, our companion and enemy that we see each year and we are used on it. Nevertheless, it is also killing us but we close our eyes and believe that we have weapons against it, our vaccines. In spite of vaccines, in spite of all, more people die from Influenza as they die from Corona. On the other side, Corona is not so aggressive like Ebola so I ask the governments to work on their biosafety and biosecurity preparedness in the time of peace and not only in the time of war. Corona could be just a test, the little battle before the warfare is official and before the kings and queens of viral universe are invited to participate.

We are greedy civilisation and we have completely destroyed the vulnerable ecosystem and habitats of many wildlife species. The tiny borders between microbes and human beings have been erased and the inferno entrance is bigger than ever. The zoonotic diseases are not the past, they are shaping our present and they will direct our future, the best way they can and it will be one way ticket, if we don’t change our priorities, accept that this Planet belong not only to us and that every single creature on the Earth has right on this blue sky, with no exception. Even that simple  bug that is killing us want just a bit of its own place, the same we have destroyed running the rat race we will anyway loose.