Prevent and fight together against Covid-19
Existing translations
Dear friends and comrades,
The coincidence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the worldwide economic and financial crisis needs practical coordination, mutual exchange and support of revolutionary parties and organizations to better fight against the corona pandemic all over the world.
Based on experience in Germany, the MLPD, its doctors and allies have continuously analysed the Covid-19 pandemic and have developed the following measures in a short version as well as detailed recommendations. We want to share our experience with you, and would appreciate very much to learn from the experience in your country to effectively fight and deal with the pandemic. Feel free to write to me or to the doctors in Germany.
Internationally, all sorts of conspiracy theories are being discussed that find a certain mass basis owing to the failure of the crisis management of the imperialist governments. At least in Germany, demonstrations with a certain mass participation (most recently 38,000) are taking place in which open fascists are trying to take the lead. They spread the view that all protective measures are complete nonsense, and so endanger the masses, and thus, together with religious fanatics, create hot spots to spread the pandemic anew.
We educate people about the interaction of the world economic and financial crisis with the corona crisis. Starting from the workers, more and more militant activities against the shifting of the crisis burdens onto the masses are developing. We have established (partly also through the courts) a proper culture of demonstrating under corona conditions (distancing, masks, disinfected microphones) while also carrying out intensive educational work among the masses. In part, in an increasingly careless way safety measures are being ignored, especially by young people. This implies an underestimation of the disease.
For this reason, in the next few days a book written by the doctors in the Internationalist Alliance is being published in Germany: CoVid 19 – Neuartig. Gefährlich. Besiegbar. (Covid-19: Unprecedented. Dangerous. Conquerable) in order to create awareness about the special character of the virus. Because only then can it be understood why such serious consequential damage to all organs can arise; why people get infected a second time – despite the temporary presence of antibodies; why the immune system does not recognize, or has difficulty recognizing, this specific virus – a fact which has far-reaching effects on the search for a vaccine. Educational work, active healthcare, and development of the class struggle against the shifting of the crisis burdens to the working class (and the broad masses) must by all means constitute a dialectical unity.
Let's fight together, support each other, strengthen and coordinate our struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic!
Long live international solidarity!
Monika Gärtner-Engel
International Department of MLPD
Prevent and fight together against Covid-19
(Short version)
Dear friends and comrades,
Different revolutionary organisations already have lost cadres to this new disease, the Corona crisis. Based on experience in Germany, the MLPD, its doctors and allies have continuously analysed the Covid-19 pandemic and have developed the following measures. We would appreciate very much to learn and exchange with you the experiences in your country to effectively fight and deal with the pandemic.
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Take it seriously, as severe damage may have long-lasting effects.
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Small liquid particles also known as droplets and aerosols are the main way of transmitting the disease. Interior rooms with no or bad supply of fresh air support the danger of infections. Meetings and gatherings in such places should be organised in such a way that a distance of 1.5 metres (6 feet) is kept and masks are mandatory.
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Any mask or cloth is better than no mask as it helps to prevent transmission of liquids. Safer are FFP2 masks, also known as KN95 masks, or even better FFP3 masks. In high-risk environments FFP3 should be used in combination with transparent plastic face shields (medical centres, hospitals). Simple cotton masks should be dried and washed regularly.
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Risk groups include people over 60, overweight people or people with pre-existing illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, cancer, smoking and other. Masks must be used when using public transport. The supply of free masks should be the demand of people's movements, as well as the demand for intense testing.
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Wash your hands as often as possible with soap for 30 seconds, always before and after contact with other people. Avoid handshakes and body contact. Effective and cheap disinfection of any item that is used by different persons (such as door handles, keyboards, tables, desks and so on) can be done with acetic acid as in vinegar. You can mix the disinfectant solution: 50 ml of concentrated vinegar, 100 ml of water, 5 drops of tea tree oil (if available).
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Mix all the ingredients together, pour into a small spray bottle and shake. If possible you should also use hand cream after use, as bought disinfectants do not dry out the skin so quickly and therefore hardly trigger any allergic reactions.
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Another way of transmission is through sharing or distributing meals. Buffets should not be used and plates not be shared. When distributing food, careful hygiene has to be maintained, (social distancing of 1.5m in the queue and while eating, and if available latex or nitrile gloves for the persons who serve the meals).
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Open air protests should not generally be cancelled, but safe distances and masks are required. Speakers should cover the microphone with plastic bags. Each speaker must have his own plastic bag for the mic.
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Discipline in safe behaving of everybody and the education to this discipline are crucial in combatting the disease.
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In case of an infection, strict quarantine has to be maintained.
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Early treatment of Covid 19 patients is important. This includes high-dose Vitamin C intravenously and eventually Vitamin D supply as well as medication against blood clots, and if necessary and possible therapy with oxygen flow. Rest and hydration are important.
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We do not recommend the use of Corona tracing apps; contact tracing can effectively be done in other ways.
MLPD doctors are available for consultation and exchange in English. Please feel free to get in touch. The circle for solidarity with refugees, “Freundeskreis Alassa and friends”, has published a YouTube film for information and education of the people about Corona. Originally the film was made by our friend Alassa for refugees in Germany. The film can be used very well for mass education.
French https://youtu.be/H0ufZQQ0MiM
English https://youtu.be/YsFCLYTsixw
Contact:
Dr. Bittel: guenther.bittel@t-online.de, Dagmar Eberhard: def@ebfo.de, Dr. Wagner, Dr. Mast
detailed recommendations
20 rules and advice developed by MLPD, its medical doctors and allies to fight the corona pandemic.
For international use we strongly appreciate the exchange to learn from each other in our common struggle against the pandemic.
1. We are in confrontation with a new, dangerous disease that can be conquered. This requires a special awareness and knowledge of the masses and their organizations as well as the common international struggle.
2. The claim that Covid-19 is a pure lung disease is incorrect. The virus can damage the heart, brain and nervous system, kidneys, liver, pancreas and intestines. It can also damage immune system cells. It can damage the entire vascular system, lead to thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attack and stroke. In adults, but also in children, it can in rare cases trigger a serious autoimmune disease ("Kawasaki syndrome"). The medical problem is not only in the acute course, but in late damage and transition to a chronic course. Unfortunately, there are no clear figures on the frequency of these late effects and chronic courses; at the moment we estimate the number of people affected to be about a quarter.
3. The virus is transmitted by droplet infection (coughing, sneezing), aerosols (the finest floating water droplets in the air that can carry viruses) and by smear infection (touching the door handle or shaking hands and then touching the mouth).
4. Between the infection and the onset of the disease there is a so-called "incubation period" of 2 to 14 days. In the days before the onset of the disease, an infected person can infect others. There are infected people who develop little or no symptoms, but who can infect others. The potential of this new virus for infecting others is high.
5. In order to avoid infections as best as possible, these protective rules are important and must be followed by everyone:
- Keep a distance from other people, at least 1.50 meters, better 2 meters. No shaking hands, no hugs, as hard as it may be!
- Hygiene: frequent and thorough washing of hands with soap for at least 20-30 seconds, disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as door handles, regularly. Cough and sneeze in hand or crook of the elbow and then wash immediately! Do not touch your face or scratch your mouth.
- Wear everyday masks, either the usual surgical mouth protection or self-made everyday masks.
6. Everyday masks prevent me from infecting others in a relatively high percentage. They do not protect myself effectively. So the sense of wearing masks arises when everyone adheres to it; only then do we protect each other! Everyday masks must be dried or changed regularly. Disposable items should be depolluted after sneezing, coughing or contact with risk persons.
7. Production and cleaning of masks: Self-made and reusable everyday masks are an important task for self-organizations. Sewing machines, fabrics and filter paper are to be financed by your own donation activities or international donation campaigns, if the local administration is unable to organize them.
Instructions for the production of an everyday mask can be found in the internet.
Cleaning of masks: Dry the masks every evening for 30 minutes at 70 degrees in the oven or equivalent suitable drying facility, wash them regularly, change filter paper regularly.
8. Anyone who has to deal with infected people or who is at high risk of illness needs special masks to protect them.
The following are possible:
Europe: FFP masks are protective masks that can retain even very small particles such as viruses, 92% in protection level FFP2 and 98% in protection level FFP3.
Of course, much more extensive protective equipment is required in isolation and intensive care units!
It is difficult to breathe air through the masks; there are FFP masks with an exhalation valve for people with lung disease, so that they can protect themselves, but not the others!
Plexiglas protective helmets protect against droplets, but not against aerosols!
Outside Europe: the names of the protection classes are different; mainly in China, protective masks of the KN95 category are produced, which filter 95% of the particles and are therefore between FFP2 and FFP3.
9. These rules apply in public areas and also for meetings in houses. In the open air, the risk of infection is lower than in houses. Good room ventilation is important (open windows!). A good room ventilation system presses the air down to the floor and has a high exchange rate. Air conditioners and fans that blow cooled or heated air directly at people's head are a risk. Point fans outwards, away from people!
If I am alone at home or in the apartment with close relatives of my family, I can take off the protective mask.
10. If many people are forced to live or work crowded closely together, the risk of a mass infection increases enormously! Refugee camps like Moria/Greece or unworthy overcrowded accommodation for contract workers have to be closed and people have to be accommodated properly. The fight against Covid-19 and against many other infectious diseases, from which millions of people die every year, also requires internationally the fight for a decent apartment for everyone, with running water and sewage systems!
11. People who are hungry, who are malnourished, who are overworked and in need have a poor immune system. They are at high risk for Covid-19. People with chronic mass diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes, chronic lung diseases, cancer, immunological diseases or other chronic infectious diseases (AIDS, malaria ...) are also at great risk. Risk people must be given special protection! The fight against Covid-19 is also a fight against poverty and poor nutrition, against old and new epidemics!
12. Applause for nursing staff and doctors is not enough! The struggle for adequate and free health care, health insurance for everyone is urgent worldwide. Broken-down public health systems and privatized medicine for the wealthy are a shame and a crime in the face of global wealth and scientific and technological progress!
13. General prohibitions on contacts, "shutdowns" and "lockdowns" are issued by the ruling capitalist class in order to dismantle democratic rights, to advance fascization and militarization and to pass the consequences of the deep global economic and financial crisis on to the masses. We fight all dictatorial measures that are not justified in terms of health!
Of course, it is true that Covid-19 patients must be quarantined until they excrete the virus no longer, as well as their close contacts, until it is certain that they are not infected. Their supply must be organized, which often requires the energy of the masses to organize folk kitchens.
Of course, it is correct to close companies with many infected people temporarily, but with full payment of wages! We have to fight for both.
It may also be correct to close schools or childcare facilities temporarily, if there are many infected people. Then the instruction of the children and their care must be organized in a different way.
14. So that things do not get that far, consistent protection and hygiene measures are necessary and regular testing of the population. General and regular testing must be carried out in health and care facilities and in large companies; the public health system must cover the costs, as well as the governments – in the end the international financial capital must pay for the costs!
Some practical medical advices
The throat-nose smear-test must be carried out from the back of the throat, they use the PCR method to detect virus components. Many different manufacturers have good and worse PCR tests. A certain percentage of these tests are false negative. This means that the person has Covid-19, but the virus is not detected. Correct positive proof in really sick people is called sensitivity; it is between 71% and 98%. Depending on the quality and the correct timing of the test, 2 to 29 out of 100 patients will not be recognized by the test. If the clinical symptoms are typical for Covid-19, then this counts more than a negative PCR test, the test must then be repeated several times.
There are also false positive tests, which means that the person is not ill or infected with SARS-CoV-2, but is still tested positive. This so-called specificity of the PCR tests is 95% in worse tests, which means that out of 100 non-infected people, 95 are correctly recognized as negative, but 5 as “infected”, although they are not at all. Good tests reach 99% in this point.
15. Antibodies can be detected from blood tests, but they become positive at the earliest point 1 week after the onset of the disease. The quality of these tests has improved, but also varies greatly depending on the test used. The capitalist race for the new billion dollar market placed rapid market launch and profit over quality and reliability. We need good antibody tests to scientifically record how sick people react, what the “undisclosed number” of previously unrecognized Covid-19 sufferers in the respective population is, how long there is immunity after illness, how the vaccination works, etc.
16. Make your own disinfectant
A few years ago, the World Health Organization WHO published its own information brochure with alcohol-based recipes. The ingredients for this are available online, as well as in pharmacies:
830 ml ethanol 96%
45 ml hydrogen peroxide 3%
15 ml glycerin 98%
110 ml of boiled water
Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a container, for example a spray bottle, and shake well. If necessary, the hydrogen peroxide can also be omitted, the glycerin protects the skin.
The ingredients for a vinegar-based disinfectant are a bit easier:
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50 ml of vinegar
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100 ml of water
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5 drops of tea tree oil (if available)
Mix all the ingredients together, pour into a small spray bottle and shake. You may use hand cream, as disinfectants can dry out the skin.
17. What are the symptoms of Covid-19 infection?
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Temporary taste and smell disorders
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Scratchy throat, dry cough
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Chest pressure
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Shortness of breath
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Fever
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Cold and heat waves (flush)
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Short-term nausea, diarrhea
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Headache and body aches
18. Important measures in the treatment of Covid-19 patients:
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If possible, high-dose vitamin C (ascorbic acid) 3x2.5-7.5 grams intravenously daily, if available
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Administration of vitamin D-tablets if available
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Avoidance of medications such as hydroxychloroquine that have been shown to be ineffective and can cause serious damage. They are still used in many countries out of greed for profit!
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Oxygen therapy, where necessary and possible, best in the form of "non-invasive ventilation" (NIV) or in form of oxygen-flow via a flexible breathing hose through the nose or mouth. (If ever possible avoid ventilation with a machine and intratracheal breathing hose.)
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Mugwort (Artemisia) extract has been shown to help with SARS infection (SARS-CoV-1), according to previous studies also with Covid-19.
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Drinking a lot of liquid (water and herbal teas), avoidance of physical exertion is essential!
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Wherever possible, use preparations to prevent thrombosis and embolism: If you are bedridden or have a high D-Dimer test: heparin injections daily!
19. Long live international solidarity!
Organize donations, make suggestions for international donation campaigns, from the sewing machine to vitamin C ampoules.
Let's fight together against the causes of the global crisis!
20. International exchange of experience:
Share your experience with us, compile your own statistics. Consultations with the doctors of the MLPD are possible in English via email or other communication channels.
The circle for solidarity with refugees, “Freundeskreis Alassa and friends”, has published a YouTube film for information and education of the people about Corona. Originally the film was made by our friend Alassa for refugees in Germany. The film can be used very well for mass education.
French https://youtu.be/H0ufZQQ0MiM
English https://youtu.be/YsFCLYTsixw
Contact:
Dr. Bittel: guenther.bittel@t-online.de, Dagmar Eberhard: def@ebfo.de, Dr. Wagner, Dr. Mast
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