"Everything has a consequence."
United States President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus. They are now at the hospital for treatment, with some White House officials saying the next few days would be crucial.
It would be wrong to rejoice over this development. It is never good to rejoice over the misfortune of others, or wish ill on others however we feel or think about them. The Universe will have a way of settling scores and putting people in their place, at just the proper time. Thus, we wish a speedy recovery for the American president—he must get well soon so that he can get back to the race and allow himself to be judged by voters in a democratic, transparent way.
What this development highlights is that nobody can protect himself or herself enough. The virus knows no economic status or job titles. If you come into contact with a carrier, bubble or no bubble, you run the risk of getting sick, yourself. It is what it is.
It also tells us that all of our actions bear consequences. Mr. Trump has acknowledged for a long time—as early as February, when he was talking to veteran reporter Bob Woodward—that the virus was deadly and quite unlike the ordinary flu. For many months, however, right until that disastrous presidential debate Tuesday, he played down the threat of the virus, refused to wear a mask, derided his opponent for wearing masks, and held large gatherings where his supporters also did not wear masks. He has made outrageous suggestions to treat the virus, encouraged states to open indiscriminately, contradicted his advisors and promised that a vaccine would be available before the November 3 elections.
Most unfortunately, the consequences do not end with Mr. Trump’s diagnosis.
Now the talk is on how soon he knew he was sick, and why he continued to see people and hold events despite this knowledge. People are asking whether he might be already sick and contagious when he arrived in Cleveland, Ohio for the debate. His party arrived just a few hours before the program, leaving no time for any testing to be done. They also trooped to the venue refusing to wear masks, much to the frustration of the organizers and the others present at the event.
In this case, the lying—which the US president appears to be so comfortable doing—could be deadly, not for him per se but for the others who believed they were in a protected environment.
Perhaps now that he is in the hospital, Mr. Trump will have the time and opportunity to think about his words and actions, at least with regard to the pandemic, during the past seven months. We wonder if anything would change —his mindset, his outlook, his approach. He is still very lucky. Not everybody can afford the healthcare he is getting now from the premier hospital where he is confined.
Then again, no amount of horror stories or lockdown will protect us too, if we do not already know the basic protocol against the virus, and perhaps more importantly why we need to do this all the time, not only when it is convenient for us. We have to make certain assumptions—first, that while we ourselves may be healthy, we could unwittingly pass the virus to loved ones, friends or even strangers who are not as strong and resistant as we are. Second, that the virus remains as powerful because we cannot see it, and thus we have to assume that it is always just around, ready to pounce on us even if we let our guard down for only a minute.
Finally, we have to assume, that the wait for a vaccine and its universal distribution will be a long one, so we will have to live with COVID-19 far longer than we would like.