A Dutch journalist based in Kenya got ‘stuck’ in Tanzania after borders were closed as a measure against the spread of Covid19. Like the British journalist who decided to stay there to look after his dogs, it’s the fact that both foreigners can move about freely in the country, there is no curfew or infringements on basic freedoms in the name of public health, that is most revealing about how Tanzania’s response to the threatened epidemic has fared.
The Dutchman did what he calls a ‘survey’, because he finds it hard to believe that numbers infected in Tanzania are low when they are said to be high in other African countries. With all the scare stories about the virus threatening widespread destruction on the continent, the intrepid reporter has missed the fact that only around 0.09% of Africans have been confirmed to have been infected (fewer than 1m).
He visited the town and found people getting on with their lives, going to and from work, buying and selling goods in the markets; he went to graveyards and found nothing startling; hospitals looked normal, though staff and guards were wearing masks. He even went clubbing the week before, and neither he nor the people he was with had any virus some time later.
Aside from rumors among other foreigners, who were warning fellow foreigners to work from home and to ‘be careful’, the Dutchman decided that he would ‘take the risk’ to go back to Kenya. So they all had homes, and jobs that could be done from home.
Meanwhile Kenya, and neighboring Uganda, struggle to keep law and order, if that’s what you’d call their dusk to dawn curfews. Kenya wants to extend their curfew for another month, and people continue to be persecuted, beaten and killed in both countries. An estimated 10 million people face severe food shortages in Sudan.
The Dutch journalist should think carefully about returning to Kenya; in fact, he should seriously consider staying in Tanzania. The enormous damage that a disproportionate response can do is already evident in poor countries. According to some sources, the damage will be soon be felt in some rich countries, as well.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
You’re really not helping your credibility quoting RT.com
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/rt-news/
Thank you for your comment. It’s probably best if I cite the author on this issue:
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/06/11/covid-will-lockdown-lead-to-a-major-health-disaster/
“This article was published in Russia Today I feel I should mention that I have taken some criticism for writing articles for Russia Today, I have remained silent on the matter up to now.
However, I would like to point out that I tried to contact the BBC with regard to many of the issues I have been highlighting e.g. the COVID care home disaster in the UK – no interest. I tried to contact UK newspapers – no interest. And I have a good relationship with a lot of journalists.
In addition to this lack of interest in matters that I felt were extremely important, it concerns me that YouTube has a current policy of censoring content critical of COVID orthodoxy. Toby Young, who can be a divisive figure, wrote about this in the Spectator magazine, pointing out that Google and YouTube are using a form of censorship knowns as ‘shadow banning’, which makes content they disapprove of extremely difficult to find.
As Toby Young made clear, they shadow banned an interview with Peter Hitchens entitled ‘Lockdown is a catastrophe.’ They also removed an interview with Nobel laureate Michael Levitt called ‘the case against lockdown.’
When I criticised the modelling of Imperial College, a huge number of replies came flooding in. They attacked me, but were highly supportive of the modelling, and the Government actions. These posts were from people who have never posted before, or since. Hired guns? I watched an interview where a representative of Facebook explained that they were shutting down any posts on Vitamin C and COVID-19. Calling it fake news. As if they had any idea of the science behind it.
Currently, if people wish to point an accusatory finger at news outlets for manipulating and censoring the news, the facts, the information flow, they need to turn their attention a little closer to home. The mainstream media seem to have become what they should never, ever, be. Cheerleaders for their Governments.
And no, no-one has paid a single rouble to write this little rant. I have never written anything that I do not believe to be true. More fool me, probably. So, I would like to say thank you to Russia Today for being willing to publish my, completely unedited, thoughts.”