Living With COVID-19 an Increasingly Accepted Reality we Embraced Before Some of our Developing Partners Did
It is a great and positive feeling to see Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama resume his field visits to cheer up our frontliners in the war against COVID-19.
Since April, when the new wave of the killer virus hit us with Delta leading the charge, the frontliners put their bodies on the line to protect us and absorb all the risks.
Mr Bainimarama’s visit was a big morale boost and emphatically showed that we are recovering although the war is not over yet.
We have taken a cautious and pragmatic approach to living with the virus – a philosophy that has been adopted increasingly by countries.
It has restored some semblance of normality in our lives as we pick up the pieces and bounce back.
Virus still exists
Dr Mike Ryan of the World Health Organisation says that even if we bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health emergency the virus will not disappear.
That’s a sobering thought, but he likens it to the influenza pandemic in 2009. While the pandemic is no longer here the virus is still present, he adds.
That is why Mr Bainimarama has warned that while the local borders have opened and the international border will reopen soon, it’s important that we maintain safety protocols like the wearing of masks, observing the two-metre distancing rule and washing of hands.
Dr Ryan says the keys to ending the pandemic are to roll out the vaccine in a more equitable way, achieve high herd immunity and keep good control of the variants.
This will help bring hospitalisation, death, and tragedy to an end.
Freedom day
Many countries including Fiji have learned that lockdowns cannot eliminate the virus. New Zealand is finding this now.
While level three lockdown has been in force for several weeks in Auckland where many Fijians live, and now spread to Waikato and Northland, many businesses are struggling to survive.
Many are praying and hoping for
Freedom Day that has happened in New South Wales, Australia, and Fiji after they achieved the vaccination rate of 80 per cent
The resumption of movements and other activities in Fiji has been a cause for celebration.
The vaccination has literally been a life saver for the people, their livelihoods, businesses, and the economy.
New Zealand, lagging in its vaccination drive, is organising a series of Super Saturday events tomorrow to entice people to get the jab.
This comes on the back of rising daily positive cases in Auckland.
The target is to reach the 80 per cent fully vaccinated rate for the eligible population.
In comparison, Fiji has done well with the significant drop in daily infections and deaths and there are signs that the economy is on the upward trajectory.
Many countries including Fiji have learned that lockdowns cannot eliminate the virus. New Zealand is finding this now.