Time and again, it has been noted that all human beings are vulnerable to covid -19 pandemic, irrespective of technological, racial, geographical or any other differences. However, there are factors which tend to make some people at a relatively higher risk of susceptibility. Disability could be one. Mental disorder, which is the focus of this compilation, is the other. In my personal conviction, people with mental illness are exceptionally vulnerable to covid -19 pandemic compared with the rest of the society.
People living with mental health disorders can hardly protect themselves from contracting the virus. They are not able to comprehend the nature of the virus. Neither are they able to protect themselves from the pandemic by maintaining physical distance, wearing face mask and washing hands now and then.
Scholars say Mental illness, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive
behaviours. Many people have mental health concerns from time to time. But a mental health concern becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect your ability to function.
A mental illness can make a person miserable and can cause problems in daily life, such as at school or work or in relationships. In most cases, symptoms can be managed with a combination of medications and talk therapy (psychotherapy).
The outbreak of the global pandemic not only affects mentally ill people, it can also influence the medical service provision in mental hospitals. Since some mentally ill people are energetic and tend to be bullying, doctors can not treat these patients like the previous ways.
In Ethiopia, the famous and the only mental health disorder treatment hospital that keep inpatients for diagnosis is Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital that was established eighty years ago. With the outbreak of covid -19 pandemic, any one can comprehend that not only the patients, the doctors would be equally vulnerable unless certain protective measures are taken. To assert this the writer of this story visited Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital to observe how safe
the compound is from covid -19 and the protecting mechanisms they employed.
Based on the observation, anyone who is entering into our hospital will undergo thermo-screening test by nurses, to check any available fever. If there is a higher fever, coughing, or any other likely symptoms of covid-19, they will go to the temporary clinic established for further examination to see whether the person is infected with covid-19 or not. Higher temperature can be a symptom for many non- corona sicknesses. Besides, washing hands or using sanitizer at the gates is mandatory for anyone coming into the hospital.
The hospital seems to have managed to decrease congestion of patients in the compound. Inpatients are sleeping on every other bed. Medicines are given in bulk that can last a patient for an extended period time in a bid to curb overcrowding in the hospital.
Perhaps, the most important measure taken by the hospital is that it has established quarantine centers in two schools found in Addis ketema sub-city, where new patients will be isolated for fifteen days. Unless the patient is confirmed to be free from the pandemic, he /she will not come to the hospital. The reason behind quarantining all new patients could be because of the
difficulty of protecting them at individual level.
Nonetheless, many mentally ill people are living in the streets. Those who are getting medical treatments are insignificant to the total number of mentally disordered people living in the street. The situation is more grave in regional states where no specialized institution is available to help mental illness.
To sum up, Mentally ill people are not capable of protecting themselves from covid-19. And worse, many of them are destitutes and living out in the street. The society can and should support them in various ways. It could be by providing basic needs. There are things which health institutions can not provide. The thing is, we can decrease the rate of transmission of the virus among ourselves by helping these groups of the society who are at higher risk. In other words, minimizing the risk of vulnerability among mentally ill people by giving minor support, we can curtail the level of our vulnerability to contracting covid- 19 pandemic.
The Ethiopian Herald April 30/2012
BY ENDALEASSEFA
