The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced here on 13 March, 2020 on official public media and that was a moment that many had dreaded, and hoped would never come. But it was also clear that there was a sense of inevitability and one of powerlessness given what had been going on in the world. Immediately, the social media was flooded by conspiracy theories that indeed the actual date of the introduction of the virus was hidden or was postdated for some reason. Some argued there seemed a repeat of what had reportedly happened in Wuhan.
Skepticism is of course the specialty of some, the hobby of others. No wonder. In the meantime however, the government had been doing what it needed to do; and that is prepare for the apparently inevitable, taking lessons from the experience of others. In that sense, we Africans were all in a relative advantage if we were ready to learn fast.
Saturated with the news that thousands were dying in China many had been arguing that we needed to do all we could to avoid that the virus does not land here. If that occurred they sustained, it would be the end of the story.
That was why there were fervent recommendations to close all borders and stop Ethiopian Airlines from flying to China. But the airlines argued that it was adhering to the strict guidelines of WHO and everything was alright. In fact, the virus did not come here direct from China! The carrier had argued that if that guaranteed the prevention of the virus from acceding Ethiopia, it would indeed do just that. But people would continue to travel and there were no guarantees that the virus could not come through other means. After all the virus had already infected the entire world.
The only way of combating COVID-19 was keep away from it by washing continuously and using masks and physical distancing from those exposed to it!
In the meantime, the first reaction of the public was one of panic and resignation. It was a clear reflection of poor awareness. The alarm was that the next day everyone would be infected! What was seen happening in other countries would come here too! Restrictions and lockdowns!
People then rushed to stock food and sanitary merchandizes. Pharmacies were stormed with requests of masks, sanitizers and gloves! Prices skyrocketed. Long queues were observed. The government tried to calm things down by promising to provide every item that it thought was indispensable to stop the virus.
The next day there were people seen in the streets of Addis with face masks, as we saw in Hong Kong and Seoul. Some mocked at these ‘showoffs’. All these reactions were clearly a result of the over cautiousness or anxiety.
Indeed, our way of life and the way our society interacts is a source of concern. It provides fertile ground for proliferation. Our facilities, our poor life standard, the limitations in our health infrastructure do not help. But what must have mattered most was act in a very responsible manner and not resort to panic and uncoordinated moves.
After all, there are no individual solutions to this crisis. There are no unilateral solutions at the world level either. No one can isolate a nation and save it while others drown.
That was why appeals were made for a global action. Even the EU showed failure in this as it left Italy to its own devices and later had to apologize.
The virus does not respect boundaries and in an interdependent world, every move must take into consideration the planet as a whole. COVID-19 has demonstrated to the world that it is powerful. It showed its might defeating even the most advanced nations. Nuclear arms would not beat it. It dismissed science and technology. Finally even a cavalier U.S. President had to succumb to this invisible enemy! It was the Creator that was most invoked by everyone! Finally only tears of impotence were seen on the eyes of the best scientists of the planet!
Awareness is hence a key notion here. And the government’s moves need to be supported. Preparations of the necessary infrastructure to accommodate quarantined people, preparations to limit the economic fallouts should be supported. Health facilities need to be expanded with more tests and isolation ventures. As complete lockdowns are untenable, helping those most debilitated by the partial restrictions is a priority. A massive campaign of awareness and even more massive mobilization of resources so that a vast safety net is available for the most needy.
A campaign of voluntary work of youths was also appreciated.
Indeed, it was the ad hoc opportunity to be of help to the vulnerable and make the most of our human nature. After all, we have a tradition of solidarity in times of crisis and we can re-explore that.
COVID-19 has changed the world in more than one ways. It has changed our perspectives and it has changed our values; and it is bound to have overarching influence in our future lives as well. Life will never be the same again. It is such a powerful virus that it disrupted completely life on earth to a standstill! There was no difference between the rich and poor, the powerful and the modest, the celebrated and the unknown. Science and technology, drones and robots all failed to stop it. And what is more, it killed indiscriminately!
While Ethiopia was doing all it could with a certain sense of urgency, it tried to apply certain fundamental rules so that the virus does not go out of control: close schools, public gatherings; limit people in offices, close down entertainment places; restrict traffic and movements…
It then declared a State of Emergency that would facilitate enforce the regulations laid down to stop the spread of the virus. But here is the Achilles Hill of our society, and in a way our establishment as well. Awareness efforts were appreciable, preparations for eventual crisis at a certain level were sound, but the enforcement was not commensurate with the above stated efforts. People could just not get it! As much as they were alarmed and panicked the first days of the virus, some now even seem overwhelmed by denial: the virus does not exist in Ethiopia! May be they are wondering where are the deaths in huge numbers seen elsewhere?!
The fact of the matter is that some weeks ago there were just a few cases in Europe, and even in America, but with this state of mind it did not take months to completely overwhelm them with causalities!
True people do not want to die with the fear of contracting by avoiding going to work, especially in the lower echelons of society. They would argue that the cure could be more devastating than the virus! But can there be life after death? Is there any chance of trying to go to work while the virus sneaks in our houses and kills many! It is a dilemma! Which comes first the egg or the chicken?
May be more charity work, more mobilization of funds to help those most exposed would be what is expected of us all. Because it would also be illogical to expect that people stay at home while they have no safety nets, nothing to eat. The government cannot provide livelihood for all citizens as even the richest nations are struggling to do it efficiently.
This could be the time to mobilize all our traditional values of solidarity to reach for the vulnerable. This would be the time to the well-off to extend a hand to the less fortunate. In this regard, our spirituality and our fear for the Creator would be a huge factor.
But yes, as we continue with our awareness campaigns the enforcement of the State of Emergency rules must also be applied. Complacency is our enemy number one; it distracts us from the big picture. Do we need to have flu in order to know what flu is? Wisdom consists in learning from the mistakes of others without having to undergo the same predicament. It could indeed be too late to do that once we find ourselves in the shoes of Europe and the U.S. or even China.
The attitude of denial that it would not spread in our land is just delusional. It must be stopped and in this regard the words of influential religious leaders, celebrities that have huge following, is crucial. We have seen a lot of this lately and that is encouraging but if action does not follow, these efforts would be vain.
Better to swallow the bitter pill now so that we have a chance to get healed subsequently. There is little time to regret our current irresponsible acts.
The Ethiopian Herald April 26/2020
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
