Time for the President to act!

Mar 18, 2021 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – It is now becoming obvious just who is advising the government in relation to the pandemic. And no wonder the situation is where it is today.
The total number of active cases has spiralled to more than 700. Just two weeks ago, it appeared as if the country was on track to register less than 300 active cases. At present, it appears as if we are returning to the high levels evident during the most torrid months of the pandemic last year.
Deaths are also increasing. At the start of August 2020 the death toll was 21. It is now standing at 210. And there will sure be as many more deaths.
The PPP/C and President, Irfaan Ali, will have a lot to answer for. They will have to give account for the massive increases in deaths which are likely now to reach more than 400 before the pandemic is over.
A few weeks ago, the President turned up at a softball cricket event. He bemoaned the irresponsibility shown by those present for not abiding by the COVID-19 regulations; and he was critical also of the organizers. His public comments left no doubt as to where he felt the responsibility should lie.
But what is he doing about the situation in the country and especially in Region Four? The numbers do suggest that it is time for tighter social restrictions. Over the past 15 days there have been almost 700 new cases and the deaths have also been increasing. The majority of the new cases have been in Region Four, where some 40 percent of the population resides.
This has to be a major source of worry. But it appears that whatever advice the government is receiving, it is far from worried. It should be though. The increase in the number of cases, and the fact that the last death was someone who was only 42 years old – not usually considered as belonging to the high risk age group – is a source of concern for the public, especially at this early stage of the vaccination campaign.
Guyana’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign is in its second week and the rollout has been far lower than the 7,000 vaccines at 26 locations which were promised. The initial rollout of vaccines has to be slow. In the early days of the campaign, it is necessary to cautiously assess the reaction of the public to the vaccine both in terms of hesitancy and in respect to any side effects. It is never advisable to rollout vaccines too quickly, because in the eventuality of problems, your health system can end up being overwhelmed and the vaccination campaign discredited.
By the end of the first two months of the vaccination campaign in the United States that country was only vaccinating slightly more than an average of one million persons. But that rate is now closely approaching 2.5 million per day and with a single-dose vaccine coming on stream, the entire 300 million population of the United States is going to be vaccinated by the end of May.
The US of course has access to vaccines. Guyana is struggling to obtain supplies. The promised 100,000 does from COVAX has not materialized as yet. The only reason why Guyana could have started its immunization is because of donations from India (80,000 doses), China (20,000 doses), and Barbados (3,000 doses).
Guyana is hoping that COVAX will deliver its first shipment by the end of this month. Russia has also promised a disgracefully small number of vaccines, believed to be no more than 5,000 doses. But that country’s vaccine is in high demand in a number of countries and Russia itself is witnessing a steady stream of daily cases and deaths. So it will need to ensure it has sufficient vials for its own local immunization process.
Guyana therefore faces a problem should the caseload of new cases continue to increase. And it should be concerned that one Region, Region Four, is now the main COVID-19 hotspot in the country. Perhaps those advising the government should determine just which areas in Region Four have large numbers of infections and active cases. Consideration should be given to locking down these areas.
The President cannot be critical of the organizers and spectators at Everest a few weeks ago and not see a similar threat occurring as a result of the spike in cases in Region Four. It is time he acts, regardless of what advice he is receiving.

(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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