OP-ED CARTOONS: Editor’s Choice – Swift action needed on POGO ills

The coronavirus outbreak is causing panic and self-protective actions around the world that are anything but pretty. At the geopolitical level, the Covid-19 epidemic has led to a spat over travel restrictions between fractious neighbours Japan and South Korea that has earned them a rebuke from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The world body said the two North-east Asian nations’ tit-for-tat travel restrictions were not helpful to resolving the crisis.

At the personal level, fear has led to ugly episodes of racism. In London, a Singaporean student was attacked by a group of Britons, one of whom said he did not want “your coronavirus in my country”. In New York City, on a subway train, an African-American was seen spraying an Asian man with air freshener to get the latter to move away. Fear and panic have also led to selfish acts of self-protection. In Sydney, three women were seen in a video fighting in a supermarket over toilet rolls, the supply of which has run low there. One of them told one of the other two women, who had a trolley full of toilet rolls, that she wanted just one pack. The woman replied: “No, not one pack.” New York has seen thefts of masks and medical equipment from hospitals that were meant for front-line healthcare workers. Another instance of bad behaviour the crisis has brought out is the opportunistic price gouging, with prices of masks and hand sanitisers, among other items, going through the roof.

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