BY MUSSA MUHAMMED
As the prognosis of Ministry of Health (MoH) indicated, in the foreseeable future, COVID-19 epidemic can affect more young people in Ethiopia and this would put another strain on the public.
As it is observed in the preceding months, there has been a great negligence which is being frequently observed in our society especially among the young population. It has also been stated that low risk perception and limitation of stakeholders to discharge responsibility would relapse the pandemic.
Currently, the principal causes for the spread of COVID-19 in Ethiopia and Africa are the growing interest of young people to entertain themselves, the reopening of schools and the possibilities of social contacts among students.
Since they are in their heydays and yearn to take control of everything in life, it is difficult to regulate youngsters. Hence, situations make them vulnerable for the pandemic.
The failure of relevant authorities to act accordingly and reluctance of stakeholders to sustain their efforts in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 at similar momentum would be a potential factor to aggravate the case, said Dr. Lia Tadesse, Health Minister.
Dr. Lia said that following resuming education, there are some objects and educational materials among others that those children be in contact with. For this reason, there is high risk for the transmission of the pandemic in the premises of schools. The habit of touching objects with mouth and nose would also be an enabling factor to let the virus reach easily to the respiration process.
Worse than this, some people do not believe that COVID-19 pandemic is a deadly disease. This wrong perception leads considerable number of people to high rate of vulnerability, she added.
As Dr. Lia unveiled and at the same time warned, there would be potential risk and the case would go out of control if situations continue in complacency and business as usual scenario.
Furthermore, she emphasized that the precautionary measures against the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are timeless and should not be left to some institutions.
She also stressed the need to comply with the required hygienic practices, washing our hands properly with soap and water in accordance to the standards of WHO, using facemasks in our daily activities, as well as maintaining physical distance and reducing the chances of people gathering in one place.
Like many African countries, Ethiopia would have racked up many hundreds of deaths had it experienced an outbreak similar to the kind that ravaged Europe, and the United States.
The government has closed borders, educational institutions, churches, and mosques when the first case of COVID-10 detected on March 13, 2019. Banning large gatherings and travel between cities and imposing a night-time restriction were mandatories.
It also undertook medical care for indisposed COVID-19 patients and aggressively isolated people who had come into contact with positive cases.
Ministries, authorities, and other administrative organizations found in different levels of Ethiopia encouraged mask-wearing and physical distancing and have taken measures to halt the spread of the virus as happened in other African countries like South Africa and Senegal.
The government enacted a raft of anti-virus measures when the pandemic reached Ethiopia.
According to Dr. Lia, currently, the number of patients in need of intensive care is increasing beyond the capacity of health facilities especially in Addis Ababa.
An average of 305 patients who are admitted to the treatment center for coronary heart disease every day are in the intensive care unit, 40 to 45 of whom use a Mechanical Ventilator. This shows how the number of patients in need of intensive care is increasing.
The Health Minister has conveyed her message across the government, relevant authorities, and the public at large to work aggressively in the prevention of COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, the prevention of such deadly respiratory disease should not be left to health professionals simply; rather, it is essential to combat the pandemic in collaboration.
As to Ministry of Health’s status update on COVID-19, in Ethiopia, as of 16 December 2020, there have been 117,542 confirmed cases of COVID-19 pandemic, 1,873 deaths, 96,307 recovered and 19,420 active cases.
