The President should be setting a better example

Sep 04, 2020 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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In one day, the following were seen around the country: persons could be seen in minibuses not wearing masks; food sellers were handling orders without gloves or masks. Some pavement vendors were close to each other and not wearing masks. A minibus conductor had on a bandana which covered only his mouth. His bus was filled with passengers. Pedestrians could be seen walking the streets in the company of others without any face protection. A man had his mask pulled down under his chin so that he could smoke a cigarette. Across the road from him a vagrant, living on the streets, was well masked.
Meanwhile, the President continues on his wild excursions. He is sharing out hampers to groups of persons. There is no social distancing during these distribution exercises even though persons are wearing mask. The President should be setting a better example.
On Wednesday 2nd September, 2020, there were only nine confirmed cases of the coronavirus, down from the 67 the previous day. However, testing was low compared to the previous day, with only 96 tests done as compared with a record 310 the previous day.
The steep decline in the number of cases on Wednesday, is therefore no cause for comfort. But what is important also is that the testing not be increased to the point where it takes more than 24 hours to obtain your result.
Early treatment is vital in preventing deaths. But late receipt of results of tests hampers early treatment. If someone has to wait seven days for their results, they can die without receiving treatment and this is the downside of doing too many tests and having to wait a long time for results.
Right now, the country needs to be testing more than 200 persons per day but the results need to be returned in 24 hours. It was disappointing to learn that only one automatic machine is being used since the technicians are seeking to operationalize the other two. By now, new machines should have been flown in to address the problems with obtaining the tests results.
With patients now being moved to the new hospital at Liliendaal, it will take the strain off the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and hopefully allow for more lives to be saved. But with 14 persons in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit, the probability, unfortunately is that there will be more deaths.
The benefits of being a legitimate government are being felt. No help, other than humanitarian assistance had been forthcoming during the five months during which time the country was held hostage by electoral bandits who are now playing sanctimonious while they continue to lie to their supporters and to the nation.
Yesterday, news reports indicate a substantial donation of medical supplies and personal protective equipment from the government. Included in the shipment were 29 ventilators. It is hoped that these will not be necessary but give the widespread incidence of the pandemic, this may be asking too much.
Meanwhile, the government’s announced restrictions have elements which are bizarre. The government is not allowing work-from home for public sector workers. But it is employing rotation. Would it not be better if those who could work from home do so and those who cannot are placed on a system of rotation?
Internationally, there has been another breakthrough in treatment options. It is being reported that another drug, hydrocortisone, was found to significantly enhance recovery in severely-ill patients. Strangely, the local health authorities are extremely silent about another cheaply available drug dexamethasone which is now authorized for emergency use in the United Kingdom.
It was hoped that by this month, a vaccine would have become available. But the timeline is now pushed backwards to the end of the year. However, it is now being reported that the Center for Diseases Control in the US is likely to start a limited roll out of a vaccine by 1st November. And when they say limited, they mean limited, since only about one million stabs are going to be issued. But at least this will protect emergency workers first and then later the sick and aged.
The United States has 300 million persons of which it is expected that half of them may be interested in being inoculated. So the roll out time will be months not days.
The bad news for Guyana is that we are not likely to get any vaccines until next March 2021. By which time a great many more people are likely to die.
The people of Guyana therefore need to take concerted action to bend the curves of active cases and deaths. It should be clear by now that the government is not going to be able to enforce the very measures, which it announced.
The initiative therefore will have to be led by Regional Democratic Councils (when established), village councils, community groups, other NGOs, businesses and private citizens. Unless urgent action is taken by the time that vaccine gets to Guyana, it would be useless if more than three quarters of the country would have already been infected.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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