Vaccinate people and stop this obsession with Covid- 19 infection statistics!

COVID- 19 continues to show its ugly face more than a year since the pandemic arrived on our shores.

The virus spread continues to rise with new cases and deaths being reported every day. The statistics being shown on national television represent people we know; friends, colleagues and family members. As the public has somehow become lax in its compliance to health protocols the numbers continue to rise. The virus’ effect on the economy is also being felt, as hundreds of people are now unemployed and many businesses have been forced to shut down.

These are people who need to put food on the table and keep a roof over their family’s head. It is time for government to speed up its vaccination rollout.

Since the start of the pandemic, authorities have been obsessed with numbers, using them to justify the imposition of the State of Public Emergency which has been in effect since last year. It is time for government to stop this obsession with numbers and become aggressive on vaccine rollout. We cannot afford to lose more lives. There seems to be complacency shown at vaccinating the country’s foot soldiers, which includes health workers, teachers, police officers, soldiers, journalists and all essential service workers.

We deliberately include journalists on this list because they are front line workers in the fight against COVID- 19. It is high time government recognises journalists as important stakeholders in the fight against the virus. Journalists, both from government and the private media houses should be given priority when it comes to vaccination. Acknowledging the importance of the media by government officials when giving official speeches is only lip- service; this acknowledgement should be backed by deeds.

We urge our readers and the nation at large, to remain vigilant at all times and obey the laid- down COVID- 19 protocols. Coronavirus remains the biggest existential threat to our generation hence we cannot afford any foot- dragging in complying with the health protocols.

This virus knows no colour or one’s economic status and thus this is not time for partisan politics when trying to deal with the disease.