DailyOh! Covid-19 makes Queen Elizabeth move to Windsor Castle. The royal family hid there during World War 2
The queen and her mother, who was the queen back then, slept in the dungeon because it was believed the castle won’t be attacked. But why?
Hi there,
Active coronavirus cases have gone past 400 in India now, but some people are still not taking the threat seriously. You must have seen visuals of people coming out on the streets in groups, clapping and clanging thaalis at 5 pm yesterday to thank those who are working to ensure essential services reach people in need of them.
“It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.” -- Robert G. Ingersoll#jantacurfew22march #JanataCurfew pic.twitter.com/CCuSAUiqAE
— Pradeep Goud Macharla ???? (@Macharlazz) March 22, 2020
In doing so, these irresponsible people are only making the lives of the frontline warriors difficult.
This prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tweet that the lockdown needs to be taken seriously:
लॉकडाउन को अभी भी कई लोग गंभीरता से नहीं ले रहे हैं। कृपया करके अपने आप को बचाएं, अपने परिवार को बचाएं, निर्देशों का गंभीरता से पालन करें। राज्य सरकारों से मेरा अनुरोध है कि वो नियमों और कानूनों का पालन करवाएं।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2020
Now, the lockdown in most parts of the country was announced yesterday evening even as the Janata Curfew was on. You know the examples from Italy, Spain, the UK and the US cannot be taken lightly. We need to understand that it is a life-and-death question. Attempts to breach the lockdown should not be made. That’s the mistake Italy made when the virus first started to spread. Now, over 5,000 people have died due to it.
In India, we need to ensure, we don’t repeat the same mistake. So follow the lockdown. Sit at home and do the things you always felt you had no time to do. Exercise or meditate depending on what works better for you, watch movies, read books and learn new words. Let us help you with one today. Lockdown. Lockdown is our Word Of The Day.
Lockdown is derived from Old English 'loc' referring to a means for fastening, and down from Middle English 'doun'. Lockdown has been used since the late 19th century, and is an example of a noun formed from the constituent parts of a phrasal verb. A lockdown is basically an emergency protocol, initiated by someone in authority, which usually prevents people or information from leaving an area. That area may not necessarily be on ground.
In the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001, a three-day lockdown of American civilian airspace was initiated. The Americans, have however, been lax in introducing a lockdown to deal with the coronavirus so far. Let’s not look at the West for lessons on this. The western world has so far failed in enforcing quick and efficient lockdowns, leaving thousands dead and lakhs of people infected. If we don’t follow our government's guidelines seriously, we too can become Italy, or Spain, or UK.
Do you know that in the UK, Queen Elizabeth II has been forced to leave Buckingham Palace and take refuge in Windsor Castle because one of her staff at the Buckingham Palace tested positive for Covid-19? All members of the royal family who the aide could have come in contact with have been put in self-isolation. If you want more information on that story, you can read this.
The queen is expected to stay in Windsor Castle for an indefinite period. This however, is not the first time the queen has taken refuge in Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth I, mother of the incumbent queen, too stayed at the castle during World War II and often slept in the dungeon along with her daughters, including Queen Elizabeth II, the current queen.
So, why did they consider Windsor Castle safer than Buckingham Palace? Well, it was rumoured that Adolf Hitler wanted to make Windsor Castle his British home after winning the war, so he would never bomb it. Now this novel coronavirus is as serious as a bomb. Probably more. That is why governments world over are comparing the current outbreak to World War II. So, please listen to the government and follow the lockdown instructions to the last word. Do your bit to ensure that you don’t get the virus and also you don’t spread the virus.
While you do that, do know that others too are doing their part of the job. Some are going beyond the ask of their job to help out. You must have heard Bill Gates, the world’s second-richest person, has committed US$ 100 million through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to aid global research and treatment of the coronavirus. Jack Ma, Alibaba founder and the second-richest person in China, has pledged US$ 14 million from his foundation to help develop a coronavirus vaccine. Now, many will tell you that Indian rich are doing nothing, but that’s not true.
Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, has offered to convert Mahindra Holiday resorts into temporary care facilities and make ventilators at Mahindra manufacturing units to help fight the pandemic.
Going by various reports from epidemiologists, it is highly likely that India is already in Stage 3 of transmission. —Cases could rise exponentially with millions of casualties, putting a huge strain on medical infrastructure (1/5)
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 22, 2020
And he isn’t the only one. Executive chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited has committed Rs 100 crore towards fighting the virus. In India, it is mandatory for corporate houses to spend 2 per cent of their net profit towards CSR. Now, CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility and stems from the belief that when big businesses make huge profits, they have a responsibility towards the society.
What corporates are extending as support now goes above and beyond their CSR. We hope more businesses come out to contribute. Do you know how the concept was introduced?
The debate around the role of businesses in society has gone on for hundreds of years, but the publication of Howard Bowen’s book Social Responsibilities of the Businessman in 1953 gave a concrete shape to what CSR should be like. This is the reason why Bowen is at times called the father of CSR.
We hope more people pay heed to Bowen’s call to help society. We also hope other members of the society try to implement what they are being asked to implement – social distancing by way of self-isolation – to ensure the coronavirus can be stopped from spreading.
While the world is berating corona, with chants of “go corona go” coupling clapping and clanging on Sunday, we thought we should tell you about St Corona. And she, believe it or not, is the patron of pandemics.
According to the website of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, the remains of the second-century saint are in northern Italy, the epicenter of the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Europe.
But according to other sources, she lived in Syria.
In one version of the several legends that surround St Corona, as St Victor, a Roman soldier, was being tortured and killed for practising Christian faith, she confessed her faith and comforted St Victor. Later, she too was martyred in a rather cruel way. Legend has it that she was tied between two palm trees that were bent to the ground. She was torn apart when the trees were allowed to snap back to full height.
According to yet another school of thought, St Corona is the patron saint of treasure hunters and not pandemics. Legends serve little purpose beyond amusing us. In the real world, coronavirus has presented a nightmare that we are all living with our eyes wide open.
But do not despair. If we follow all expert advice, we will tide over this. And experts are saying even if you feel that we are overreacting to the threat, overreact. Overreaction will not harm you. Not doing enough can.
On that note we take you leave for today. Stay home. Stay safe.
We will be back tomorrow with more.