Latest news with #Covid-free
Otago Daily Times
22-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Accepting viruses and our baking shortcomings
Realising I am not genetically superior was a let-down. In the end, I could only blame myself. I had started to believe my own mythmaking. Never a good idea. For the first few years of Covid-19 infections romping through the country, my vaccinated self managed to avoid it. There were some close calls, including the time I was part of a group which spent an enjoyable evening around a circular dining table opposite a man who tested positive for the virus the next day. He had been sneezing too, put down at the time to an allergy to the resident dog. While my two half-sisters had both contracted Covid, my two full siblings were Novids, despite exposure to it, hence my delusions of our genetic superiority. (The Auckland-dwelling sister's avoidance was particularly impressive since all of the time she has worked in a front-line health reception role.) Earlier this year, she was finally laid low with a hefty dose of it. I told myself she must have been already under the weather. I pushed away thoughts my Covid-free days might be numbered too. When I experienced symptoms a few weeks later, I convinced myself it was a cold, only deciding to check after someone told me of an annoying work acquaintance always insisting they didn't have Covid, but never bothering to test. When the lines showed up on the rapid antigen test, I didn't believe them. I wastefully repeated the test. The lines were there again. Damn. As it turned out, my symptoms were mild, and I was grateful I was well enough to continue with my writing work at home as usual. The experience made me ponder anew about our Covid-19 response and the bitterness still felt about it by some — in particular, the vitriol still hurled at former prime minister Jacinda Ardern because of her government's handling of this event. Its persistence baffles me. She has not claimed she got everything right in the pandemic response but points out "we don't get to see the counterfactual, the outcome of the decisions we didn't make. The lives that might have been lost". Did the frenzy of Jacindamania lead some people to believe she was a saint; some sort of omnipotent being who could do no wrong? Was her talk of kindness too much? (A wise character in Fredrik Backman's latest book My Friends , says "kind people were the worst, because at least with mean people you know what you're dealing with. There's no limit to how dangerous someone who seems kind can be.") Were they disappointed to find out she was flawed and fallible like anyone else? That, no Virginia, there is not a Santa Claus? To those critics who will no doubt accuse her of behaving as if she thought she was omnipotent, my suggestion would be to be open-minded enough to read her book. Some reviews have spent more time dwelling on what is not there, or what they wanted it to be, such as a blow-by-blow account of her time in the top job. Since it is a memoir, it was up to her to choose what she put in and what she left out. She has not itemised everything that happened in the Covid response, but vividly conveys the uncertainty, the enormity of the task facing the government, the relentlessness of the ever-changing scenarios, and even the impact it had on her ability to be present in play with her toddler daughter Neve when her head was full of Covid-related graphs. Many women will be able to relate to Dame Jacinda's struggles with morning sickness, breastfeeding, and being torn between their job and their role as a mother. These are issues which do not go away when you are a prime minister, even if you have a great support team, as she did. As someone who never ventured near the contents of the iconic Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book ( I knew my limits), I remember being irked by Dame Jacinda's postings about her birthday cake constructions for Neve. "You don't need to be super mum and the Prime Minister," I wanted to scream I feel kinder after reading about it, understanding it as an example of the sort of silly pressure mothers feel. She knew nobody expected her to bake a cake, but she saw it as part of a list of "Mum" things she needed to tick off. Maybe it is time to cut her some slack, in all areas of her life, and to acknowledge what she and her government got right and learn from what they got wrong. In the same way I have had to come to terms with not being genetically superior and therefore immune to Covid-19, we could accept she is not a demon or a god. • Elspeth McLean is a Dunedin writer.
Channel 4
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Channel 4
Jacinda Arden on Trump, how to lead and Covid
Her term as Prime Minister was marked by the Christchurch terrorist attack and the pandemic. New Zealand's former premier Jacinda Ardern was best known for keeping her country impressively Covid-free although many turned against her in the cost of living crisis which followed. Her style of politics was based on empathy rather than confrontation. She's just published her memoir, A Different Kind of Power, and we sat down with her for the Ways to Change the World podcast. We spoke about what she made of the rise of governments across today's world – very different from the one she led.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
City reports its firstCovid case in 17 mths,patient recovers
Lucknow: The city reported first Covid-19 case after a gap of nearly 17 months amid a fresh surge in coronavirus infections across several states. The patient, a 60-year-old resident of Ashiyana, recently returned from a religious pilgrimage to Uttarakhand and developed breathing difficulties on May 14. He was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), where he tested positive for Covid-19 on May 21. He recovered during treatment at SGPGI and is currently under home isolation. His sample has been sent for genome sequencing. Health department has also collected samples from close contacts for precautionary testing. Family members have been advised to stay vigilant and continue prescribed medication. Health department has intensified surveillance and all hospitals in the district have been instructed to test patients showing symptoms of Covid-19 or related respiratory illnesses. Chief medical officer Dr NB Singh said, "This is the first confirmed case in the city since Jan 10, 2024, when Lucknow was declared Covid-free. We are taking all necessary steps. There's no need to panic but residents must remain alert and follow safety guidelines." Authorities have also issued fresh directives to boost Covid-19 preparedness in the light of prevalence of JN1 variant, urging the people to report symptoms promptly and avoid complacency.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Bristol man who had Covid for 290 straight days dies years later
A man who was once infected with coronavirus for 290 straight days - longer than almost anyone else recorded in the world - has Smith, 76, died peacefully at his home in Bristol on 1 April, his family said. The BBC understands he did not have coronavirus at the time of his Smith, who was a pub and club performer, made headlines around the world after contracting Covid in May 2020 and being unable to fight it off for 10 was dubbed a "miracle man" by doctors for surviving the virus, which saw him hospitalised seven times and left him with 51% of his lung capacity. In 2021, scientists at the University of Bristol studied Mr Smith's case to try to understand how Covid acts and mutates within the described his experience of having Covid as "like someone has pulled the plug and life is just draining out of your body".He lost 10 stone (63.5kg) during his illness, and was left barely able to walk or hold a conversation. Speaking about his ordeal, Mr Smith said he felt "ready to give up" and "resigned" himself to dying as a result of eventually became Covid-free in 2021 after being treated with a mixture of antiviral drugs provided by the US company Regeneron on compassionate grounds.A driving instructor by day and a lead singer by night, Mr Smith was left unable to play with his band due to his ordeal. He did however get the chance to perform again to a hometown crowd when he staged a successful comeback gig in Bristol and went on to fulfil a personal dream in 2023 when he performed on the West End with a Covid choir.
