The best thing about my ability to kill a man with my thumb is how easy it is
for me to not do it. Until recently the ability to kill a man with your thumb
was considered a rare skill and something that most people could easily
avoid doing. But now, times have changed and anyone can kill with their thumb. We
may have already done it without knowing it, you and I. The greatest challenge of our
time is to avoid killing thousands of people with our bare hands.
This new coronavirus is different from anything that we have ever seen before.
It is very contagious, very deadly, and an awful way to die. If you were to catch
the common flu, odds are that you might pass it on to one or maybe two people.
And then they would pass it on to others, and they would pass it on and with that
rate of infection, after ten times you will have infected between 15 and 30
people at most. And because of the flu kills one person out of every thousand,
those thirty people are likely to survive. But with the coronavirus, you
can be infected without knowing it, for a long time. You can pass it on without
even being sick. You breathe on someone, you cough, you touch something, you pet
a dog, you touch a doorknob without washing your hands thoroughly in between. And the
infection rate is so high that you would pass it on to three people, they pass it
on to three... So that three becomes 9 the 9 becomes 27 the 27 is 81 the 81 becomes
243 the 243 becomes 729... After 10 times, you have given it to 59 thousand people.
And because the death rate is so high, thousands of those people will die.
You will have been a contributor to the deaths of thousands of people. Many of
those will be doctors and nurses and hospital staff and paramedics and
firemen and people who care for the elderly. These are the people who, right
now, are on the frontlines risking their lives to save ours. The very least that
we can do is to put our lives on hold for a while,
in order to save theirs. Now, stopping this virus will be costly. But that is
nothing compared to the long-term cost to the economy, society, our lives, and our
souls if we do not do everything we can, right now, to stop this thing in its
tracks.... and hope that it is not too late. Survival of the fittest is a myth.
We know that the ones who are most likely to survive are those who take
care of each other. Businesses have closed. That is the best financial
decision they could make. Just think about how much more money they will be
able to make in the future by not being dead. Churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, and all
places of worship have all closed. For our prayers will surely go unanswered if we
contribute to the deaths of thousands of people through our negligence and
carelessness. I will not be able to see my wife and daughter until this is over.
It may be weeks. It may be months. But the wait will be worth it. Now, I have a quiz
for you. Look behind me and see if you can identify the most important weapons
there. That's right.
Wash your hands frequently. Do it thoroughly. Get around the thumb, the
fingers, between the fingers, the edges of the hands, the backs of the hands, the
wrists. Get your fingernails. Get them all very clean. Do that frequently. If you
have Lysol or wipes, or some sanitizers, wipe down... If you have to go anywhere, wipe
down your steering wheel. Wipe down your doorknobs. Clean frequently. Okay? It is a
very, very powerful tool. And look to your national or local or international
health organisations for advice on how to cope with this crisis.
Thank you. We can get through this. I'll see you on the other side. God willing.