Stigmatising ‘super-spreaders’ won’t help the fight against coronavirus | Philip Ball
by Philip Ball from Science | The Guardian on (#4Z8K0)
The idea that people who infect a large number of others are 'culprits' is scientifically flawed - and deeply unfair
Few people believe any longer that illness is divine punishment for sin. But if you want to see signs that health is still considered today a moral affair, take a look at how we respond to epidemics like the coronavirus.
The Brighton businessman identified as a "super-spreader" of the virus after he contracted it at a conference in Singapore is reported by the Times as feeling "very harassed" and "scared that [he'll] become a scapegoat". He is thought to have infected at least 11 people while travelling and socialising, before developing (mild) symptoms himself. It's hard not to read the media emphasis on his role as a scout leader as an implication that he has carelessly endangered innocent children.
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