There was a time when the word of a US President carried great authority, irrespective of what the president had to say. But over the past fortnight or so, we have seen President Donald Trump promote the use of an anti-malarial drug called Hydroxychloroquine as an effective treatment for Covid-19 infection. Prior to that, we had been told by globally renowned infectious disease specialists that we had no need for face masks. That we should leave the limited supply of such masks to medical professionals, and to those who had been tested and found to be infected by the coronavirus (who had to wear face masks in order to avoid spreading the infection). And this U-turn is not a result of any failing in our own public health infrastructure, fragile as that may be.

Source: The Star April 16, 2020 00:56 UTC