We do not see the same media hype over epidemics that affect millions of people in poor countries

“Imagine the horror of a rapid cull of the oldest people we know and love,” Ben Lowry wrote in the News Letter.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Mar 2020, 08:25 BST
Updated 14th Mar 2020, 08:54 BST
A mother holds her baby for a malaria vaccine in Kenya. The disease killed 270,000 children under the age of five in 2018A mother holds her baby for a malaria vaccine in Kenya. The disease killed 270,000 children under the age of five in 2018
A mother holds her baby for a malaria vaccine in Kenya. The disease killed 270,000 children under the age of five in 2018

(The article can be read here: ‘Far from panicking over the coronavirus, we have been too laid back about the risks,’ March 11)

As I fall into the vulnerable older age category, I am moved by Ben’s solicitous sentiment for us older folk (and to think I had the awful suspicion young people might be more focused on the inheritance).

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As for people being too laid back, surely not so. There is a news epidemic on the subject. Corinavirous has seamlessly replaced the endless topic of Brexit.

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

It is so incessant that I feel compelled to enter the fray.

I don’t think people were laid back. They simply took a wait and see approach to what is a new type of human virus with universal implications for both rich and poor countries.

I think the media are being driven by the fact that it is contagious in the former.

We don’t see the same level of media hype regarding epidemics in poorer places: malaria of which there were 228 million cases in 2018, killing 405,000 people (272,000 children, five years and under), nor leprosy of which there were 208,619 new cases in 2018, nor even drug misuse.

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For instance, there were 1,187 deaths from drug misuse in Scotland in 2018 (the highest drug death rate per capita for the whole of Europe).

Finally, I have noticed that not one media outlet has commented on the blatant hypocrisy of allowing thousands upon thousands to wear face coverings to protect against virus contagion, while Muslim women are subject to legal restrictions (against face coverings) in countries such as France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Bulgaria, and partially in Italy (Novara), Spain (Barcelona), Switzerland (Ticino) and Russia (Stavropol).

Micheal O’Cathail, Fermanagh

Related topics:Ben LowryBrexitEuropeFranceBelgiumNetherlandsDenmark