How Miscalculated Clamor for Reopening the Economies Can Spell More Doom if Not Carefully Managed

Do you know what the snare of a fowler look like or have you witnessed any perilous pestilence in recent times? The snare is the deceptive allure the hunter uses to dangerously entangle unsuspecting people to be consumed by a pestilence, which can be likened to the Covid-19, and that is the unfortunate situation the whole world is presently battling to get rid of. The hunter and the pestilence are wrapped into this virus. Pray you never have any cause to get caught in that web.

It is better to stay safe than sorry. Let a premature reopening of the economies or easing of social distancing not be equated to blindly walking into a consuming danger. The world has lost too many people of all ages - over 190,000 casualties as at April 24, 2020 and still counting. Let us not be in a hurry to lose more lives. Life is too precious and we cannot begin to imagine what families who have lost their loved ones are going through now. A healthy people can recreate the wealth of a nation. If we have not learnt any lesson, let us know that the only thing that cannot naturally be brought back to life is life itself. So do not be confused, there is nothing that is more important than life. You need to be alive to be able to participate in anything, like going to work, school, shopping malls, theater, gym, travel, play or watch sports or doing any activity - only the living and healthy can be active. Trees can grow or be replanted, food crops can be grown, houses can be rebuilt, an economy can be revamped or recover from recession, schools can reopen or lessons taught using remote online platform, sick person can get well, order can be restored. However, except by divine intervention, once a life is lost, it is the end of discussion, which is the termination of an era. Period! 

Our health system and medical equipment as well as supplies have all been tested and the result reveals the inadequacies of these facilities and the unpreparedness of authorities to attack the pandemic within the shortest timeframe or put in place a comprehensive plan to exterminate it just as it appeared. Health care workers and first line responders are constantly and daily putting their lives at risk in the battle against the Covid-19. Unfortunately, many have lost their lives in order to save other people’s lives. This is a period to carry out a major evaluation of the facilities on ground alongside the adequacy of qualified personnel to attend to any surge in new cases. If the result is far better than the situation that existed before the month of March to middle of April 2020, then consideration for easing of restrictions can gradually and systematically commence anytime from summer of 2020, after necessary and effective measures have been put in place. Sacrifice such as staying at home and denial of self from many activities we are used to, is required at the moment to combat the pandemic.

It is clear the lockdown has created a lot of uncertainties, crippled businesses as well as global economies, alter people’s way of life, led to job losses, stress and impacting the health and emotional wellbeing of people. However, the number one public enemy, Covid-19 is yet to be put under control. No vaccine has yet been discovered for the virus and the world health system has been completely overwhelmed. The danger with virus is the complete indestructibility nature of the disease, there could be a vaccine for it, you can prevent yourself from getting it but it can resurge.

Let us not be too much in a hurry to sentence more people to their early grave because no body chooses to die whether sick or healthy. If we wait it out a little bit more, where after the curve has plateaued, it starts to bend downward, then more rapid testing can be done on a large scale, any new infection could be detected and possibly traced to their origin, so more emphasis should be placed on contact tracing, isolation and control with the aid of technology and data management. Once you can determine the source of the infection, you can isolate the person or people and appropriate care can be given. Therefore, there is a need to intensify more efforts on testing, prevention and monitoring in order to control and ultimately curtail the spread of the virus. Medical experts are continuously warning against relaxing the social distancing guidelines too soon, which can exacerbate the devastating impact of the Covid-19.

If over $8 trillion dollars have already been pumped into global economies in stimulus packages and palliatives, nations might as well wait it out a little bit more and spend an extra $2 trillion dollars in rebuilding their economies than spending double or triple the amount as additional funds to attend to new infections and correct the ills created by the pandemic. The stay at home directive is for people’s benefit individually and collectively. The people who are in the ICUs and on ventilators did not choose that as an option or way of life. The question is would you rather be at home and well or be on the ventilator and not know the outcome of what is next, which could be a matter of life and death? Think of people who have lost their lives to the deadly disease, families that are grieving for their departed loved ones. 

While you still have the chance to stay alive, it is important for people to begin to act responsibly. It is more imperative to allow the medical experts and public health officials to advise on the appropriate measures to be put in place as well as appropriate timing for opening up the economies for business activities.

Our brave frontline and medical personnel, even though they can see danger, are still going headlong in order to save lives and do their part in combating the spread of the corona virus, at the risk of their own lives. They have families too. These are the brave warriors of our time! Governments, corporations, NGOs and well meaning individuals are committing time and resources to ameliorate the ugly situation. People should do their part by obeying the guidelines, the most important for now, which is stay at home or self quarantine if you are feeling sick.

Do not willfully exchange your good health with the unknown outcome of the Covid-19. Stay the course, wait a little longer and this too shall pass. Someday, not too far from now, our lives will gradually return back to normal.