20200323落實公衛利自他Benefiting Ourselves and Others by Caring for the Public’s Health
The patients are female, born in 1948 and 1973 respectively, and have resided in epidemic-affected areas. They are housed in a special ward of the Clinical Centre and both patients are stable in health.
Right now, there are over 190 countries and territories around the world with confirmed cases of COVID-19. I am very worried about Africa, where health-care systems are weak. Even if there are cases of COVID-19, they might not be able to confirm whether the patient is infected. It’s truly scary. I am very worried about countries in Africa.
I’m worried about countries that are poor or with weak health-care systems. Many countries have placed cities or towns under lockdown. Some countries have closed their borders and banned all overseas travels. This pandemic is truly very severe. In many countries, high level government officials have also been infected by this virus. Some passed away soon after. It’s truly scary.
There are also cases involved with religious gatherings. A few days ago, I learned of the news that in Malasia, there was a mass gathering of Muslims for a prayer event. Many attendees were infected without being aware of it. In Italy, many people have died of COVID-19.
As such, this pandemic is truly severe. I don’t know what to say. Every day, I see that I don’t know what to say about this pandemic. How to describe it? The virus is invisible and has no trace. Where will the virus spread to? It spreads truly fast, so rapidly and so frighteningly. I am lost for words. What should I say about this?
Every day, every moment, I am concerned about every place of the world. Recently, I’ve been asking the monastics at the Abode, have you asked volunteers in such-and-such country about their wellbeing and situation? How are they today? Are they all safe? Every day, I pay attention to this.
When I hear a country where there have been new confirmed cases, I’d ask people to make calls and ask about the situation there. I’m still trying to get a hold of things and figure out the direction each day. I honestly do not know what we can do today about this matter.
However, as I said yesterday, I saw and understood that this pandemic is a disaster. This is unprecedented, yet we are facing it now. This is a major event that I have kept talking about recently. Everyone, please stay alert and be vigilant. This virus pandemic is a major event in the world. A similar event happened before; serious SARS outbreak happened more than 10 years ago. It did not last as long as the one we are facing now.
The year when the SARS outbreak occurred, everyone in Taipei was anxious and worried. Tzu Chi volunteers in central and southern Taiwan were doing all they could to help. Some helped purchasing goods. Some helped making isolation gowns and caps to send to northern Taiwan.
Now, the situation is different. It is not possible for one place to send things to another place or another country. Most countries are now in lockdown and exporting face masks is banned, because they need to take good care of their people first, and then offer help to other countries. People are facing situations like this.
Volunteers, we are not clear how long we have to keep wearing face mask or how many face masks will be needed. Even yesterday, I was saying that we need to speed up our efforts, and perhaps, as we at the Abode are working hard to produce cloth masks, we hope to provide them to those who need it, for people who need them for medical purposes, or people who have not been able to get a mask.
Let us work against the clock. Tzu Chi volunteers are doing this as well. Be it volunteers in southern, central, or northern Taiwan, as well as Hualien, they have been making masks. At places with a sewing shop, our volunteers have been making cloth masks and providing them to people for everyday use. People feel safe wearing a mask, and they don’t need to go to stores and fight over purchasing masks. We mobilized people to make cloth masks.
Though the design of the cloth mask looks simple, We actually need to be very precise in making them so when we wear the mask, it will prevent us from getting infected. Therefore, we have volunteers teaching each step and everyone is teaching with great details.
This outbreak is terrifying, and I truly want to do my part in helping.
Our quota for Puli is 550 close masks. At first, we were sewing very slowly, then we found the techniques, and we formed an assembly line.
We saw it as our duty, and no one can excuse themselves from it; desperate times call for desperate measures.
I am grateful that among our volunteers, so many came to help. Those who can sew came to sew, Those who can’t, came to learn. I am truly grateful for it. I hope everyone has heightened their vigilance; keep in mind to wear the masks correctly.
Some people have on their mask, but when they talk, it only covers their mouth but not their nose. Some people pour their mask down to their chin when they speak, but the droplets fly when people speak, and that is where the danger lies. We are not wearing masks for fashion, we are wearing it to protect ourselves from flying droplets.
So, we need to wear our masks properly. An infected person exhales contaminated breathes, and we inhale through our noses; when we speak, our mouth splits droplets. The mask is to cover both the nose and the mouth. We must have this common knowledge.
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