Today is the Ides of March (ie the 15th of
March) and the traditional date for Caesar’s
death.
Because I write historical romance set in ancient times, I
have a small interest in the various epidemics which have swept across the
world. In long ago times, they were slower moving because of the rate of travel
but they were deadly. One of the deadliest was the one in 541 AD which helped
to re-configure Western Europe. Then there
was the 14 century plague which really
did for feudalism and bath houses in Western Europe. And as a result of quarantining
from Cambridge University, Sir Isaac Newton discovered the principles of
gravity and calculus.
And we can thank early pioneers in public health like
Florence Nightingale (among other things she campaigned for men as well as prostitutes to be tested for syphilis through collecting basic information and produced graphs)
for deciding we need statistics in order to
inform public health decisions. This is a fascinating and timely article from the Smithsonian about her work. Because of this and many other unsung heroes, the world is perhaps far better
prepared that it would have been otherwise. Computer models are crunching the
new data and working out ways to protect the general population.
As with any epidemic, there is a lot of misinformation and
people who are desperate to try anything or think that various methods work.
(Hint: face masks did not stop the plague back in the 14th century)
1. 1. Get your information from your National Centre
for Disease Control or in the case of
the UK where I live from the NHS and Public Health England. This is the current UK advice which includes
if you have a sore throat and/or a 100 F temperature to basically assume it is
COVID 19 and self-isolate (put yourself into quarantine for 7 days) The 7 day
is because research from Germany has shown that the virus is most
infectious at that time.
2. 2. The best way to behave is to think you have been
exposed, are not displaying symptoms but don’t want to put other people at risk
– so practice good hygiene. Do not think that these precautions are for other
people. It is the people who cheated the system who have managed to spread the
virus (no doubt they considered they had good reasons like not wanting to miss
a trip of a lifetime).
3. 3. Boost your chances of only having mild symptoms/no
symptoms by ensuring your immune system is the strongest possible. So that
means the usual – healthy eating, pro and pre-biotics, not smoking and drinking
alcohol in moderation as well as taking regular exercise. All the things in
other words doctors and other health professional have advised to keep well
over recent years.
4. 4. This is not a movie. It will not be over in a
few days but will take 3 -6 months to clear. Everyone needs to play their part. If the Public Health bodies are
successful, we will all be wondering what the fuss was about come the summer
time. Something that I'm praying for.
In other news:
The Sons of Sigurd series has its first book by Michelle Willingham
out and is a cracking read if people need something to do while they are self
isolating. From tomorrow (16 March 2020) a free online read by Michelle Willingham which
supports this series will be on Harlequin.com
As you can see from the photo, I have had a glimpse of my
cover.
I have just sent the full of my last which is a sequel to A
Deal with Her Rebel Viking off to my editor.
Stay safe and keep healthy – until next month
Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical
romance in a wide range of time periods including Viking, Her book (Book 3 of
the Sons of Sigurd) will be published in July 2020 You can learn more about
Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk
1 comment:
self-isolation is key
denise
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