Khalid Simply Says

Let us admit: Masks are going to be the new normal. Whether we like it or not, it will become part of our dress for the foreseeable future as we start to return to schools, offices and factories. There are as many questions about masks as the variety of masks out there. There are DIY masks made at home, the one sewn by grandmas, made with 3-D printers, bandannas, surgical masks, the N95, the ones worn by the construction workers, and many more that I cannot even enumerate.   Which one’s work and for what? Do they protect or not? Protect us or the others around us? One thing is clear, any type of mouth and nose covering when in public, is essential. “Normally, you think about wearing a mask to protect yourself,” said Mike Bell, deputy director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “That’s not what this is about. It’s about not spraying respiratory secretions and spit into the air around you” he said, as he s...

ABC: Animals, Bats and Corona Virus Lord Matt Ridley’s report in my words This much we know that an animal was the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the current novel coronavirus). However, was it a bat or a pangolin (a scaly anteater) or perhaps both? It’s not clear. As I sat down to read the paper this past weekend, an article in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye. I thought to share it with my friends. So here it is a report by Lord Matt Ridl ey —in my words. But before I do that, let me share what I have learnt so far about bats. There are about 1,300 species of bats in the world. Some are tiny, as tiny as a bumble bee, while others such as fruit bats can weigh up to 4 pounds and flying foxes have a wingspan of 5 feet. Bats are mammals and can live up to 30 years. Some live solitary lives while others live in colonies of more than a million. Bats have been the source of most of the dangerous new diseases of the past two decades. The natural reservoir of rab...