4 ms·

WHO says countries should keep borders open despite coronavirus (2020)

36 points by apsec112 6y ago

ultrablack 6y ago
Yeah. About that...
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  A bunch of WHO info was leaked recently: 1) Leaked tapes from WHO science meetings discussed the CCP being too slow to release corona info, just like SARS-1, but the Chinese government should still be "protected." It was vague what protected meant, but it sounded political. 2) The earliest scientist who said corona wasn't from the Wuhan lab was ... a European WHO scientist associated with the Wuhan lab.
kangaroozach 6y ago
Well that’s settled then.
tjpnz 6y ago
This was written exactly a month after Taiwan had started adding more stringent border controls. The world could learn a lot from how they handled the situation.
MaximumYComb 6y ago
My understanding is that this advice wasn't based on keeping Coronavirus numbers low but on reducing the damage caused by economic loss to parts of the worlds population. My country, Australia, has done amazingly well at containing the virus locally but I'm sure that a number of smaller, less economically developed countries nearby have citzens that are feeling the economic damage. How many children in these countries are going hungry?
- Mediterraneo10 6y ago
  Not only economic damage, but environmental damage as well. According to an anecdote I read by someone who works with wildlife-conversation efforts in East Africa, the loss of income from tourism in 2020 and 2021 is going to impact those efforts. If leaving the land untouched isn't generating income from tourists, then poaching and illegal landuse increase. Similarly, if Chilean Patagonia isn't doing well from tourism to its natural beauty, there is less resistance to industries coming down from Santiago and building hydro infrastructure all over the region.
  - carlmr 6y ago
    On the flipside the constant airplane tourism is destroying nature on a global, not a local scale. I would personally guess that the environmental impact of 0 tourism would be much better on the global scale.
    - carlhjerpe 6y ago
      A fully booked jetliner is consuming less fuel per traveled distance than a car with one person in it. They're not as bad as you might think they are. The amount of delivery driving has definitely increased with corona, but there's less people commuting to work.
      - carlmr 6y ago
        People don't routinely drive thousands of kilometers with their cars to go on vacation, they do however fly thousands of kilometers, because it's so fast. In delivery I agree with you, even with boxes, it's much more efficient for one delivery truck to drive to 1000 households than 1000 households to drive into the city, even with public transit.
        carlhjerpe 6y ago
        People do however drive tens of thousands of kilometers a year in their cars. My point isn't that less flying isn't good, I don't even know what my point is, probably just that there are many points to consider
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
I worry about a new wave of nationalism and loss of solidarity. Over the recent decades Europeans have been encouraged to visit their neighbors, see what's there, meet people. But now all those opportunities for cross-border interaction will be prevented for up to two years, and the economic fallout from the crisis might be an end to the cheap transportation that allowed that travel to even the lower middle class. That can't be good.
- bronzeage 6y ago
  Add to that the fact that weimar republic inflation of the 1920s was a factor behind the rise of nationalism, and every country is printing money right now at unprecedented rates.
  - mrkramer 6y ago
    Collapse of Roman Empire led to creation of European nations because it left huge vacuum space. Rest is history; Europeans fought nonstop for power and domination. It is in human nature to compete and dominate, nationalism is no different.
- Proven 6y ago
  Nothing is prevented, there's email and video conferencing, completely free for 99% of population with basic phone plans. If you can't afford that you probably can't afford international travel either. It's incredible how those bureaucrats think borders should remain open without visitors paying the cost of testing and 14 day quarantine.

36 points by apsec112 6y ago

ultrablack 6y ago

Yeah. About that...

redis_mlc 6y ago
A bunch of WHO info was leaked recently: 1) Leaked tapes from WHO science meetings discussed the CCP being too slow to release corona info, just like SARS-1, but the Chinese government should still be "protected." It was vague what protected meant, but it sounded political. 2) The earliest scientist who said corona wasn't from the Wuhan lab was ... a European WHO scientist associated with the Wuhan lab.

kangaroozach 6y ago

Well that’s settled then.

tjpnz 6y ago

This was written exactly a month after Taiwan had started adding more stringent border controls. The world could learn a lot from how they handled the situation.

MaximumYComb 6y ago

My understanding is that this advice wasn't based on keeping Coronavirus numbers low but on reducing the damage caused by economic loss to parts of the worlds population. My country, Australia, has done amazingly well at containing the virus locally but I'm sure that a number of smaller, less economically developed countries nearby have citzens that are feeling the economic damage. How many children in these countries are going hungry?

Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Not only economic damage, but environmental damage as well. According to an anecdote I read by someone who works with wildlife-conversation efforts in East Africa, the loss of income from tourism in 2020 and 2021 is going to impact those efforts. If leaving the land untouched isn't generating income from tourists, then poaching and illegal landuse increase. Similarly, if Chilean Patagonia isn't doing well from tourism to its natural beauty, there is less resistance to industries coming down from Santiago and building hydro infrastructure all over the region.
- carlmr 6y ago
  On the flipside the constant airplane tourism is destroying nature on a global, not a local scale. I would personally guess that the environmental impact of 0 tourism would be much better on the global scale.
  - carlhjerpe 6y ago
    A fully booked jetliner is consuming less fuel per traveled distance than a car with one person in it. They're not as bad as you might think they are. The amount of delivery driving has definitely increased with corona, but there's less people commuting to work.
    - carlmr 6y ago
      People don't routinely drive thousands of kilometers with their cars to go on vacation, they do however fly thousands of kilometers, because it's so fast. In delivery I agree with you, even with boxes, it's much more efficient for one delivery truck to drive to 1000 households than 1000 households to drive into the city, even with public transit.
      - carlhjerpe 6y ago
        People do however drive tens of thousands of kilometers a year in their cars. My point isn't that less flying isn't good, I don't even know what my point is, probably just that there are many points to consider

Mediterraneo10 6y ago

I worry about a new wave of nationalism and loss of solidarity. Over the recent decades Europeans have been encouraged to visit their neighbors, see what's there, meet people. But now all those opportunities for cross-border interaction will be prevented for up to two years, and the economic fallout from the crisis might be an end to the cheap transportation that allowed that travel to even the lower middle class. That can't be good.

bronzeage 6y ago
Add to that the fact that weimar republic inflation of the 1920s was a factor behind the rise of nationalism, and every country is printing money right now at unprecedented rates.
- mrkramer 6y ago
  Collapse of Roman Empire led to creation of European nations because it left huge vacuum space. Rest is history; Europeans fought nonstop for power and domination. It is in human nature to compete and dominate, nationalism is no different.
Proven 6y ago
Nothing is prevented, there's email and video conferencing, completely free for 99% of population with basic phone plans. If you can't afford that you probably can't afford international travel either. It's incredible how those bureaucrats think borders should remain open without visitors paying the cost of testing and 14 day quarantine.