It is time for the people to take control of this pandemic

Oct 08, 2020 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Two weeks ago, I counted no less than 30 persons within a half mile stretch who were not wearing masks. Many of them were in groups chatting.
One week ago, I counted more than 100 persons at midday on the Georgetown Seawall without masks. Throughout Guyana, you can find persons not taking the necessary precautions. Some of those who are wearing masks are wearing them below their noses.
The police are supposed to have some role in enforcing the COVID-19 regulations. but one Sunday afternoon, about a month ago, at a location in which members of the Force are provided with accommodation, a tent was erected and persons could be seen imbibing alcohol in plain few of the public and the persons who live in that compound.
The chickens have now come home to roost. The chickens have been on their frolic and now the time has come when they will reap the bitter rewards of their reckless behaviour.
The COVID-19 infections keep rising at a disturbing rate. And it will continue to rise because there has been massive spread of infections, particularly over the past three months when the economy began to be reopened.
Institutional spread is now rampant. Yesterday it was reported that an employee of the Guyana Revenue Authority tested positive for the coronavirus. This person works at the GRA’s Headquarters, a building which, despite the obvious risk of transmission, employs hundreds of persons and serves hundreds more each day. In this age of virtual services, it is amazing that the GRA would have allowed so many persons to be in one building at the same time.
But that was not the only bad news for the GRA. It is now being reported that four persons may have tested positive for the virus at their New Amsterdam location. But it gets worse. It is being reported that the tests were done on 29th September but that the results came back on the 5th October. If this is indeed the case, this is totally unacceptable.
Delays in receiving tests results may mean delays in treatment. This could be the difference between life and death. No one in the media is asking the Minister of Health about the status of the G$52M machine which is supposed to increase testing and reduce the turnaround time between tests and the availability of results.
The situation in the country now demands drastic measures. But do not look towards government for that. Once the approval was given since July for the reopening of the economy, it was always going to be difficult to reverse course.
People therefore will have to perform the national rescue act. They will have to take the necessary precautions to stem the infection and death rate. Wearing masks is just one way to do so. The other most important thing is to restrict travel. Only essential travel out of the house should be undertaken.
This is not rocket science or guesswork. Once you limit physical contact with people, then the rate will be reduced. Once you increase physical contact, the opposite happens. This is why the reopening of the economy has led to massive spike in cases. Social distancing is not just about being six feet away from other persons. It is also about limiting contact with others.
The Regions have to now take control of the situation in their jurisdictions. Most of the regions are now reporting increased cases but Region Four remains the main problem area because it has an uncontrollable number of active cases which can, if it has not already done so, overwhelm the country’s health system.
There are also some issues to be resolved. A health official of Region One was reported a few days ago as saying that there were only 10 cases from that Region and that all of them were over the age of 65 and eight of the 10 deaths were confirmed as COVID-19 positive post mortem.
There is something wrong with these numbers. Reports in the press have reported persons dying in the region who were below 65. Also, the number 10 does not appear to be accurate given that one senior health official had spoken about as many as 22 deaths from that Region. It could be that the 10 deaths referred to may have been those that died within Region One. But certainly, the daily reports on COVID-19 deaths suggest that there were persons under the age of 65 who died.
Deaths of young people have occurred. Yesterday a 41-year-old woman died and the day before that someone as young as 38 had died. Prior to this there were two cases of persons in their 20s who died, and a young man from the East Bank who was in his early 30s who passed away.
Those persons who are therefore walking around the country without masks, as if they are invincible had better take note. They should also realize that not wearing a mask places others at risk because these persons can be infected by those who are walking around without masks and who may be asymptomatic.

(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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