Transparency is lacking in the government’s response to the pandemic

Oct 02, 2020 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Yesterday just after midday there were quite a few persons at the Georgetown Seawall. Of the more than 100 persons who were there, only three had on masks and two of those persons were improperly wearing their masks under chins.
There are a number of vending concessions on the Georgetown Seawall between Camp Road and the roundabout. Some of these vending establishments were being patronized by persons, none of whom were wearing masks and most of whom were sitting close to each other. Most of the vendors were not wearing masks as well.
There were also numerous cars parked on the verges. Mask-less persons were inside of these vehicles.
The situation on the seawall yesterday was just a microcosm of what is taking place in the wider society. Too many persons are not taking the precautions seriously. And this attitude goes to the heart of the debate as to the responsibility of government in coercing people to do the right thing.
If there were no policemen on the roads, more motorists would be speeding. The presence of traffic police ranks forces persons to slow down.
While it is the responsibility of persons to drive slowly, without legal sanctions and lawful deterrence, persons would flout the laws more frequently.
It is responsible for persons to take security precautions when at home. But this obligation does not absolve the police from trying to prevent criminal attacks.
People have their responsibilities, but the government has its duties. It is because the government recognizes the threat to the whole of society and because it knows that it cannot simply rely on voluntary compliance, that it published measures in the Official Gazette prohibiting and limiting certain activities. Bars ad striptease clubs for example are still not allowed to be reopened.
However, if the government makes no attempt to enforce these measures, people will be doing what they were doing yesterday at the Georgetown Seawall. They are going to flout the regulations because there is no deterrence or sanctions involved.
There are persons who want to only blame the people. And the people are at fault here. But government, past and present, has to be blamed for not enforcing the regulations.
There are many stores which are setting a good example. They are insisting the persons wash their hands before or upon entering the store. They are insisting also that their customers wear a mask.
The government is not stepping up its campaign to ensure that everyone wears a mask in public. The Guyana Defence Force is now going to be involved in a soft-approach to ensuring compliance. However, if every mini-bus, every taxi, every business entity, including markets, ensure that persons wear a mask, it will take a great deal of the strain off of the government. The regional authorities must now also play their part.
A few weeks ago, the government reverted to a 6pm to 6am curfew because of rising cases. Cases are still rising and the government is changing course. The curfew should only have been slackened if the number of cases had fallen.
Region Seven and Region Nine do not have uncontrollable numbers of active cases. Yet, travel restrictions are being imposed on these Regions. On the other hand, Region Four is a runaway train when it comes to active cases. Yet, there are no travel restriction.
Perhaps the government knows something that it is not telling the public. Without transparency about the measures being employed to combat the local COVID-19 epidemic, it will be difficult for the government to convince a distrustful public that these measures are based on a scientific assessment of the incidence and spread of the virus.
The government says that the data is usually assessed by a Task Force and based upon this, decisions are made. The public would like to know the members of this Task Force who are making decisions about their lives. Is there an epidemiologist within or who is advising the Task Force?
The average daily testing is not yet up to 300. The public does not know whether same-day results are available. What about the cartridges which were supposed to allow for the activation of the gene-testing machine? What about the costly new testing machine which is supposed to have been procured? Has it arrived or is it coming in a canoe?
The public should be told who is advising the government and the rationale for the recent decisions to slacken the curfew. It needs to be told about the total number of active cases and the specific areas where they originate.
Fear has always been a key in stemming pandemics. When people learn that there are infected persons within their areas, they quickly begin to take precautions.
Instead of fear, people are walking around the country without masks, as if they are invincible. And the government is only now taking action to stop this malpractice.

(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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