From America first to America last, or perhaps to America not at all
by Rashmee
Posted on July 7, 2020 / The Focus
It was Donald Trump’s main political rival Joe Biden who identified the main problem now faced by the United States. It’s gone from America first to America last. Or perhaps to America not at all. Biden told Washington Post columnist Greg Sargeant, in reference to the European Union’s ban on American visitors as a pandemic-era … Continue reading “From America first to America last, or perhaps to America not at all”
Read MoreThe moral case for the world to have access to covid-19 drug
by Rashmee
Posted on July 4, 2020 / The Focus
As someone with a vested interest in Gilead Sciences, the company that makes the covid-19 drug remdesivir, I’m looking for a return on investment that’s not encashable. Remdesivir is not a cure for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. But it is one of only two drugs proven to help people recover … Continue reading “The moral case for the world to have access to covid-19 drug”
Read MoreWhy the Leicester coronavirus flare-up matters
by Rashmee
Posted on June 28, 2020 / The Focus
Pay attention to the Leicester flare-up in coronavirus cases. Both the reasons for the surge in infections and the response. Three reasons are under consideration in order to explain the 658 coronavirus cases in the Leicester area in the fortnight to 16 June. First, the city’s food production industry. The East Midlands’ largest city has … Continue reading “Why the Leicester coronavirus flare-up matters”
Read MoreThe strange case of Europe’s early coronavirus sightings
by Rashmee
Posted on June 20, 2020 / The Focus
Did SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the covid-19 disease, really start to make its deadly way around the world from Wuhan, China? That’s what much of the world says but China, quite naturally, has cast doubt on the sequence of events. There has, however, but been considerable pushback to Chinese attempts to deny responsibility. … Continue reading “The strange case of Europe’s early coronavirus sightings”
Read MoreCorona-alliances, travel corridors and air bridges: taking a flight is no longer business as usual
by Rashmee
Posted on June 17, 2020 / The National
While there is neither vaccine for cure for Covid-19, international travel is tentatively resuming in a strange new world of bubbles large and small, air bridges, green lanes, negotiated corridors and colour-coded zones. The cartographical features of the new travel order are not yet set but it is safe to say they will be unique. … Continue reading “Corona-alliances, travel corridors and air bridges: taking a flight is no longer business as usual”
Read MoreBeijing virus cases sound a warning: normal may be a fantasy for now
by Rashmee
Posted on June 16, 2020 / The Focus
China is racing to control a coronavirus outbreak of 106 new infections in Beijing less than a month after the country recorded no new confirmed cases. New Zealand, which reported its last active case of covid-19 on 22 May, now has two new infections. South Korea, which successfully countered one of the worst early covid-19 … Continue reading “Beijing virus cases sound a warning: normal may be a fantasy for now”
Read MoreBubbles, air bridges, green lanes: Travel in a post-pandemic world
by Rashmee
Posted on June 6, 2020 / The Focus
It is a truism that the pandemic will change travel. How we travel, of course, but also where. Until there is a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the covid-19 disease, international travel is set to resume in a strange new world of “bubbles”, “air bridges” and “green lanes”. What might the cartographical … Continue reading “Bubbles, air bridges, green lanes: Travel in a post-pandemic world”
Read MoreIt’s too early for US museums to be recording the pandemic
by Rashmee
Posted on June 3, 2020 / The National
In late April, as the coronavirus outbreak continued its inexorable spread, a museum in Los Angeles put out a remarkable call. It asked communities in the western United States — the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains and the west coast — to help “identify and preserve items of historical and cultural significance during the Covid-19 pandemic”. The Autry Museum explained … Continue reading “It’s too early for US museums to be recording the pandemic”
Read MoreIsn’t it premature, this attempt to capture how we dealt with the pandemic?
by Rashmee
Posted on May 28, 2020
The New York Times reports that several museums across the United States “have begun recording this moment of collective uncertainty in the country’s war against the coronavirus”. What that means is we’re trying to capture a moment in time even as we live through it. How valid will that be? The Times’ piece notes that … Continue reading “Isn’t it premature, this attempt to capture how we dealt with the pandemic?”
Read MoreLessons from the sub-Saharan past on how to deal with pandemics
by Rashmee
Posted on May 23, 2020
Ever wondered how humans in Africa hundreds of years ago protected themselves from pandemics? The BBC World Service’s ‘Science in Action’ programme offered an answer, in a fascinating conversation with Professor Shadreck Chirikure, Head of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town. Communities practised social distancing, the Professor said, by dispersing settlements, … Continue reading “Lessons from the sub-Saharan past on how to deal with pandemics”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK