Risky gatherings can help COVID-19 thrive – Emergency Medicine Specialist warns

Nov 16, 2020 News

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– urges public to adhere to simple but effective precautions

Kaieteur News – Ask just about any medical expert and you are likely to hear the same thing: “COVID-19 has brought us back to basics.” But exactly what does this mean?
With the advent of the pandemic and moves to engage efforts to reduce its contagious and deadly impact, experts have concluded that the disease is one that can be greatly kept at bay by employing basic cleanliness tactics such as: washing and sanitizing hands often and practicing good cough and sneeze etiquette. Added to this, social and physical distancing is advised as is the use of a face mask while in the company of others or in public spaces.

But what has become discouraging, especially to medical experts, is the fact far too many people have viewed the precautionary measures as too simple to be effective.
This state of affairs was alluded to by Dr. Zulfikar Bux, an Emergency Medicine Specialist, in his most recent column published in the Sunday, November 15, 2020 edition of this newspaper.
In the column titled: “The disease where keeping it simple became difficult,” Dr. Bux wrote, “As I reflect on how we responded as a world and as a country to this pandemic, it pains me to see how we ignored the little things and made mountains out of simple acts.”
This pandemic, he observed, has “exposed our weaknesses and has shown how primitive we behave in times of real adversity. The evidence is clearer now that the smaller, simpler interventions have more impact in controlling this pandemic than the complicated paths that we mostly chose.”
Even as he pointed to the fact that being responsible and keeping clean should be two qualities of any decent human being, Dr. Bux noted that the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has shown that people do not readily possess such qualities even in these modern times. “Spitting around, exposing others while we have suspicious COVID-19 symptoms, not wearing a mask, participating in risky gatherings, poor hygiene practices, etc., are all behavioural factors that increase the spread of the virus. We know these facts but yet we could not have collectively practised them to combat the spread of this virus,” noted Dr. Bux. Since the onset of COVID-19, Dr. Bux has been diligently sharing his medical wisdom with the public with the aim of helping members of the public safeguard themselves from the disease.
The pandemic, he noted, has essentially shown how weak humans are as a species.
Perhaps in recognition of this, the scientific world has never before collectively focused its efforts on finding treatments for a disease as we have seen during this pandemic. Yet, Dr. Bux added, “We did not invent a new wonder drug that can cure this disease. Numerous expensive treatments were tried but never delivered as hoped. What the evidence did show, was the obvious positive impact of cheap, tried and tested medications that we have been using for decades to combat the disease.”
A number of treatment options including: Ivermectin, Azithromycin/Doxycycline, Vitamin C and D, Zinc and Hydroxychloroquine have become increasingly popular worldwide in reducing deaths and severity of COVID-19 once used early, noted Dr. Bux. But according to him, “I am still baffled why there has not been a collective effort to use these cheap medications early before the disease gets into our body and overwhelms it.” Instead, Dr. Bux said, they were debunked in poorly constructed studies for the more expensive and ‘lucrative options’. “These medications are like an airbag, they need to be deployed before the accident to work, not after,” he explained.
As infected persons continue to fall ill and die, the world awaits a vaccine that can conquer COVID-19 once and for all. But as we wait, Dr. Bux added, “we still have to survive till then. Where we go from here and how we fair as a country until there is a cure, depends on each of us. I urge myself and you all to bring the good out and let’s rally together and show this virus that we are better than this; be responsible and keep it simple!”
In so doing, Dr. Bux said that persons must bear in mind that from all indications, the virus thrives in poorly ventilated and closed spaces. Since it is said to quickly disperse in open environments where there is free flow of air, Dr. Bux is of the firm belief that “this is one of the reasons why we have not had devastating numbers in Guyana. We are not as modernized and most of our structures and functions still allow us to be exposed to free-flowing air. We should therefore make use of this fact and avoid gathering in closed air-conditioned spaces as much as possible.”
He, nevertheless, warned that persons should not use this as an excuse to be outdoors unnecessarily, as risky behaviour will increase their chances of acquiring the virus whether indoors or outdoors.
Staying away from infected persons, in order to help reduce the spread of the virus, should not be taken lightly, Dr. Bux said. “While most recommend six feet, there is still a small risk at such a distance especially if the infected person sneezes, yells or sings loudly. We should therefore distance as much as possible. This fact was known very early in the disease but it did not prevent gatherings as we would have hoped. Somehow, in Guyana and around the world, gatherings in times of frustration or during celebrations, occurred regularly and facilitated an environment for the spread of the virus to occur,” the Emergency Medicine Specialist noted.

 

 

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