Never has the need for Gambians to unite to protect their nation, and act to prevent the lives of millions from being turned upside down, been greater, than today. As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19), spreads globally from its Wuhan City epicentre, in China, we must do everything in our power to prevent it from entering and spreading in Gambia. Confirmed cases have now been reported next door.
A virus that is said to spread through droplets from close-proximity, sneezing-and-coughing infected-carriers, is truly deadly – for it can rapidly infect millions. A trip in a tro-tro in which an infected person is a passenger sitting next to you, who isn’t wearing a facial mask, for example, and coughs or sneezes constantly, could end up with one becoming infected one’s self.
So fear-inducing is the possibility that it could eventually lead to some people avoiding public transport altogether – potentially affecting the viability of the transport sector if the numbers are significant. And the same scenario could disrupt other sectors of the national economy as fear of infection drives many to avoid crowded places.
The more responsible sections of Gambian media have a crucial role to play in educating the public about the basic steps we must all take to prevent becoming infected – and they must collaborate with healthcare professionals nationwide in that mass education exercise.
Worldwide about 90,000 people in a total of 58 countries are reported to have been infected. Keeping such a pandemic at bay, and preventing COVID-19 from spreading, should a patient test positive for it anywhere in Gambia , is a huge challenge – in a nation in which most healthcare facilities are cash strapped and face many daily challenges.
Sadly, this is also a society in which many spit, cough and sneeze in public, without any sense of embarrassment. It is said that prevention is better than cure, when it comes to illness.
Clearly, the global economy now faces its greatest crisis of confidence since the global financial crisis of 2008. Given its ramifications and potential for economic dislocation, in the case of COVID-19, prevention really is better than cure. Definitely.