The novel coronavirus, called Sars-CoV-2, and the disease it causes, COVID-19, has perhaps sparked the biggest 'fear of the unknown' in recent times.?We are all in the midst of one the worst pandemics humanity has witnessed.?
We know that people have a way to interpret things in the most twisted ways possible and there are umpteen examples, from?panic-buying everything from toilet paper to ibuprofen?to some people thinking they could clap the virus away in India.?
But ever since cases started peaking across countries, the situation seems to made of pure chaos, despite repeated pleas to stay calm. It's all about coping with fear and that's what many are getting wrong.?
More recently, in Indonesia, several passengers on a ferry jumped into the sea and swam ashore after authorities sought to block the vessel docking due to fears of suspected coronavirus cases.?
According to a Reuters report, the ferry was blocked when trying to make port in Maumere in the eastern island of Flores, amid fears three crew members on board had contracted the novel coronavirus.
Instead of staying calm, crowds gathered on the deck as some people decided to take the extreme measure of jumping into the water, to avoid the risk of contracting the virus.
Videos shared on social media showed medical workers in protective gear carrying out tests onboard the Lambelu after it was allowed to dock before passengers were moved into quarantine on land.??
Reuters quoted?Wisnu Handoko, an official at the transport ministry, as saying, ¡°We ask for the passengers to cooperate with health protocols before disembarking from the ship and refrain from any actions that could be harmful."
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But none of the pleas to stay calm mattered, all of them aboard thought the only way out was to jump into the sea to save their lives. The ferry was carrying 255 passengers, mostly migrant workers returning home from Malaysia.?
In a sign of growing anxiety about the spread of the coronavirus, residents in Maumere gathered at the port to protest the ship's arrival on Tuesday.
Indonesia had recorded 2,956 cases of the coronavirus and 240 deaths.?There are fears in less developed parts of the country, including Flores where there are no confirmed cases, that people travelling from other cities could spread the disease to areas where health care facilities are ill-equipped.
Tests conducted on passengers from the Lambelu on Tuesday evening were sent to a laboratory on Java island with passengers in quarantine expected to wait up to a week for the results.