Finally free

It is just before 8am on Monday, June 15th, and the doors of the Zamalek dorm are unlocked, finally.

People are coming and going in a nearly festive mood.  Outsiders are coming in and greeting some of the “inmates” as though they have just been rescued and released from the Somali pirates – happy to see each other alive.

The medical staff and ministry people are presiding over the entire scene with the air of the “saviours” who brought us out of the darkness of A(H1N1) to our “reintegration” with the outside world.

In my (not really very humble) estimation – this is a ridiculous farce.  There was NOTHING WRONG with ANY of the people who were locked-up in the dorm for a week.  NO ONE HAD THE VIRUS.  The infected individuals were taken to a hospital on Sunday and Monday last week.  There was no further testing of people in the dorm.  There were no instances of illness.  We were all given prophylactic Tamiflu.  And we were left in the dorm so that the public could see how efficiently and effectively THIS flu was being handled.

A complete fiasco.  Incarcerating us for  5 days BEYOND isolation of the infected and distribution of Tamiflu had NO BEARING on the spread of the virus.  Students, staff and faculty were restricted in their  ability to enter and leave the building, but Ministry staff, some guards and other “important” people came and went – usually without masks or any other protection from viral contamination.

I feel like I’ve been used for a huge public health side-show, that had nothing to do with REALLY improving public health.

It is done now – people will take credit for doing valient things to protect the public.  We are now allowed to move freely – personal freedoms recovered.  I suppose I should be happy – I’m simply relieved.