Talk of the town

Saturday, 7 March 2020 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Everyone is talking about coronavirus these days.

The Australian Government imposed travel restrictions from China and Iran first, followed by South Korea. While Australian citizens and permanent residents are exempt, they must self-isolate on return to the country. Travellers from Italy face screening at check-in and when they land in Australia.

Meanwhile, the Chief Prelate of Lankaramaya, the Buddhist temple in Sydney, Most Venerable Meegahakumbure Dhammagavesi Nayaka Thera took the initiative in chanting ‘pirith’ for one week to bless those suffering from the illness and to prevent it spreading.

One thousand bottles containing ‘pirith pen’ – water blessed while chanting ‘pirith’ – will be distributed at the end of the chanting to households. This follows the tradition during the time of the Buddha when the Buddha directed the monks to visit and cleanse the Vishala Mahanuwara (city of Vishala) which was faced with a famine following a severe drought, with water blessed while chanting ‘pirith’.

Though it is a working week devotees gather at the temple in the evening to chant ‘pirith’ along with the monks.

Taking precautions

The lead story in the media this week has been the coronavirus issue with the accent on how precautions can be taken to stop it spreading.

Issuing a health alert the Health Department has referred to it as “a novel (new) coronavirus (COVID-19)”. The department updates the alert every day with the latest medical advice and official reports.

The department has advised why one should isolate himself/herself if he/she is at the risk of getting the virus. One is if the person had left or transited through mainland China in the last 14 days from the date of leaving mainland China or Iran. Another is if the person has been in close contact with a proven case of coronavirus, he/she must isolate for 14 days from the date of the last contact with the confirmed case.

Those who had travelled only to Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan need not isolate, the department has said.

The Australian Government considers Mainland China, Iran, Italy and South Korea to be at higher risk for COVID-19.

Two days ago, the reported cases across the world amounted to over 95,000 with 3,200 deaths. Most of the deaths were from China. The majority of new cases continued to be from South Korea, Italy and Iran.

On 30 January 2020 the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.