With the advent of 2020 came a lot of welcoming gestures. People went praying to whatever they believed in their various religions and irreligion.
They topped it off by wearing their brand-new clothes, eating their favourite dishes, and drinking.
There was great hope that the year 2020 would be better than the, then, outgoing 2019. Unknown to them, a scourge was looming ahead on the horizon:
COVID 19!
Saying the virus has been the defining factor of 2020 is an understatement.
The virus was believed to have appeared in Wuhan, China’s wet market, where wild animals are sold for human consumption.
It was later alleged that the virus came due to the introduction of 5G communication technology.
As of the beginning of April 21, 2020, here are the results of the impact of COVID-19 on the world. Cases are 2,481,287. Deaths are 170, 436, and those who have recovered are 646,854.
The unfortunate thing is that the plague has yet to stop. More tragic is that, according to sources, it will take between 12 and 18 months to get a vaccine into the market normally.
However, a vaccine could be ready for use in 3 months due to the urgency. But those who know might understand that it could be dangerous.
Meanwhile, those countries that respect their citizens have legislated that, save for producing essential commodities, people should be indoors under a lockdown program.
They didn’t stop at that; they provided palliatives for their citizens.
Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to other countries. A person has described their situation as putting leashes on dogs while starving the poor animals.
But then, an essential part of human civilization is freedom of movement. This can’t be overemphasized when one looks at countries in the temperate regions. There, sunlight is a luxury which they enjoy for a brief period during summer.
The situation is just a little bit better for countries in the tropics. Sadly, most of those countries lack respect for their citizens. So, they use the excuse of poverty not to offer some palliatives to their citizens.
But then, I would think 12 months of social, economic, and even religious inactivity is pretty long. Even those nations offering some palliatives can only do so much. People shouldn’t be expected to pay taxes if they don’t work. Apart from that, other sources of revenue for governments might be jeopardized for apparent reasons.
I very much believe we should start thinking outside the box and stop this waiting game.
In the first instance, let’s continue with our hygiene. Second, we should continue social distancing until vaccines to end the virus are perfected.
Let’s equip the local health centres with equipment to ascertain who has been infected. Then, those infected should be taken to isolation centres.
We could also do it with some fumigation!
Since I’m not a medical personnel, I believe those concerned should be able to dot my ‘i’s and cross my ‘t’s.
But I feel we’re already getting stale at home!
By the way, something keeps telling me that a solution might come from African herbs!!
042020
