Achooo Alert - Swine flu hits Mumbai
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The swine flu scare has JUST entered Mumbai with 2 deaths in the last few days and people are already panicking. People are so worried they might contract the disease that everyone is masked up hoping to keep the virus at bay.People from taxi drivers to corporate officials seen masked up to prevent H1N1.I see a wide range of masks-from the handkerchiefs tied up around their faces(in a way that they resemble the terrorists that reside in Borat's homeland) to the usual anti-dust mask and the high end surgical masks(I must say people who go to this extreme really lack some guts).I don't think many people know this over here in Mumbai that none of these masks that people use here can prevent viruses.I repeat....none of the masks used by people here can prevent viruses. The only form of protection these masks provide is from bacterias.The media, due to lack of meaningful news, sensationalizes "Swine Flu" apart from other meaningless news like noob students getting mugged in Aussie.Seeing the heightened media hype, the locals tend to panic when all one needs to do is lead a healthy lifestyle.Where Monkey See Monkey Do phenomenon has caused the whole of Mumbai to mask up, the media hype is forcing schools and colleges to shut down completely for a week or two. Didn't anybody think of a more efficient plan like "self-quarantine" for those with flu like symptoms.
PS: The opinion in this post is that of the blogger and readers are advised to follow at their own risk.The writer has clearly no fear of losing his life to Swine Flu and he is happy leading life on the edge taking as many "calculated" risks as possible. Also, he can't wait to fake a cough(of course he will follow basic courtesy of covering his mouth while in the act) in a crowded train compartment in front of masked up people.He thinks the people around him will throw him out of the speeding train for sure.
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14 years in India : Montfort School, Orissa
4.5 AWESOME years in Singapore : St Joseph's Institution; Catholic Junior College; Outdoor Adventure Club; 102-C ; Frisk and Romp
Now: Back In India, Navi Mumbai to be exact.
Future: Wanna be an AWESOME Computer Engineer who builds cool,intelligent robots which can follow me on my expeditions to the farthest corners on this planet.
Interests: Mountains; Nature; Frisbee; Soccer; Running.