This Virus is Relatively Kind

Before you start freaking out about the title, let's get this out of the way:

The author of these words is not Trump, Bolsonaro or any other random idiot who thinks he knows best.

This is coming from Maria Manuel Mota who is the Executive Director of the Molecular Medicine Institute (Instituto de Medicina Molecular), in Lisbon, Portugal.

Maria Mota has a degree in Biology and a Master's Degree in Immunology from the University of Porto. In addition, she received her PhD in Molecular Parasitology from the University College London, UK.

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She has won several awards:

• 2003: Young Investigator Award by EMBO;
• 2004: European Science Foundation Young Investigator Award;
• 2005: Appointed Commander of the Order of Prince Henry (Comendadora da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique), a national honour of Portugal.
• 2013: Honoured with the Fernando Pessoa Prize, given to Portuguese citizens who contribute significantly to the arts or sciences.
• 2017: Awarded the Pfizer Prize for her work in the area of malaria.
• 2018: Received the Mid-Career Sanofi-Institut Pasteur prize.

As you can see, she has the authority to speak about it, earned through her hard work, years of studying and investigative research.

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In an interview to one of the most credible National Newspapers in Portugal, Maria Mota affirmed that "the new coronavirus is relatively kind."

According to her, "it's necessary to protect the elderly people but we shouldn't put the lives of the youth on pause."

Maria Mota also states that "it almost doesn't affect children, teenagers and young adults."

Speaking of them, Maria Mota said:

"The largest part of them are used to see their grandparents, if not every day, at least once a week. Maybe this needs to stop happening. I believe that, until the end of the year, grandchildren will have to stop visiting their grandparents. One of these days, Angela Merkel said that we cannot give freedom to the youngest and take it away from the eldest. I don't agree, if this is a way of protecting them.”

In the same interview, Maria Mota claims that:

"Closing the country for a year or more while waiting for a vaccine makes no sense."

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I was only able read a part of the interview, as the entire article is behind a paywall or available in a physical edition.

Since almost everything is closed because of the lockdown, it is not easy to find it. I'm looking for it as I write this text. Next stop, a gas station. Let's see if I can find it there.

...no luck there, I need to keep on walking...

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Article Sources:

• Observador
• Wikipedia