The COVID-19 pandemic has gripped the world and the political situation has heated up. In all affected countries, the virus brought to light leadership faults. Somehow, accepting that COVID-19 existed, and had to be contained, became a matter of political stance.

The US government failed spectacularly at containing the virus, from refusing to acknowledge the danger, to undermining its own experts and their advice. Instead of implementing effective measures like mask wearing and having people isolate in their homes, the measures pushed were ones that appealed to republican voters, the pandemic was framed as a problem that came from abroad and borders were closed.

Corporate interest proved to be a higher priority than citizens’ lives.

While Germany is often cited as one of the best examples in this crisis, after the first wave, the country now stands before rising numbers, with schools open, business back to normal and an increasing unwillingness to go back to the way things were in April. Many feel abandoned by their government, a sentiment that has given more and more platform to conspiracy theorists and the far right. In a chaotic time with few clear-cut answers on what to do, how to act and who to blame and trust, conspiracies offer a conveniently simple enemy with an equally simple solution.

In an ideal world, scientists determine what needs to be done to deal with a crisis

In Malta, much authority was given to those who had spent their lives studying infectious diseases and, as a result, it handled the first wave better than many other European countries. However, the initial success did not stick and the reaction to the second wave proved too slow.

So what can be done?

In an ideal world, scientists determine what needs to be done to deal with a crisis. The politicians’ role is to implement these recommendations in the most viable way. Both real and perceived personal agendas of conflicting parties have muddied the waters and made it impossible to know who is telling the truth.

The way to regain trust is to be transparent about one’s actions and motivations, and start at the beginning: what is the ultimate goal for dealing with the pandemic, and exactly how do we plan on achieving it?

Did you know?

• Sharks are the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

• After returning to Earth, Buzz Aldrin retired from NASA and started working at a car dealership, but failed to sell a single car.

• Famous authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both went to a party dressed as polar bears, the problem was that it wasn’t a costume party.

• The earliest known recipe for ice cream was flavoured with ambergris (whale vomit).

• A million seconds is 11.5 days. A billion seconds is 32 years.

For more trivia see: www.um.edu.mt/think

Sound bites

• The wooly rhinoceros was long thought to have gone extinct due to overhunting by humans. Sequencing of its DNA found that the most likely cause for the animal’s demise was not human after all, but the rising temperatures at the end of the last ice age.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200813113157.htm

• Researchers with the RIPE project at the University of Illinois found that photosynthesis in crops can be sped up by manipulating a few key enzymes and proteins. In tests, this method allowed for a 30-50 per cent higher crop yield.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200810113213.htm

For more science news, listen to Radio Mocha on Radju Malta and www.fb.com/RadioMochaMalta/RadioMochaMalta/