By Adama Makasuba
A group of Gambian doctors has expressed strong concerns on how people continue to disregard coronavirus protocols as they frequently organising mass gathering, cited recent mass gathering at the Independence Stadium, as example which could lead to fast spread of the virus among people.
Association of Residence doctors -The Gambia cited the recent stadium events -launching of President Adama Barrow’s National People’s Party and the launching of singer ST’s ‘Dinding Mansa’ album – amid coronavirus pandemic.
The group’s President, Musa Marena said it is “a probability because the virus is something that moves with people and it is always happy where crowds gathered and when people gathered some will breathe and when you breathe some will cough and if you cough and you are very close to another person you will spread the virus around.
“Despite these crowds have been happening in open areas but the closeness of the people is something that will help the virus to be transmitted from one individual to another and as a country we have seen the numbers going up recently.”
Dr Marena said despite the recent surge in coronavirus cases, people continue disregarding the measures globally put in place in a bid to contain its spread and raised concern that the nation’s healthcare service will be overwhelmed if more people attended the events happen to contract the virus.
“I think we as healthcare workers have failed in convincing people that Covid-19 is real and we have seen this threat going on that massive crowds are being gathered every weekend and more weekends have been proposed such crowds to be happening subsequent weekends. We as healthcare workers what we can do as of now is to hope and pray that these crowds will not turn out to be a Covid centre because if only few of them happen to have Covid-19 and it becomes very serious, we in the country will be overwhelmed – the healthcare service will be overwhelmed,” he said.