Critics who blame Government for sickness, deaths during pandemic are naive, stand on weak grounds

Many of those Fijians who died from COVID-19 were not vaccinated despite the Government’s call for people to get the jabs. And the big effort to make vaccination accessible.

There was resistance from several quarters against the vaccine based on unfounded conspiracy theories. In some cases it was influenced by politics , the advocates pedaling an anti-Government narrative.

Public failure to follow safety protocols like wearing of masks, two metre physical distancing rule and hand washing contributed to the spike in daily positive cases to 1000 plus. Even curfews were breached every night.

It was not until the vaccination rate shot up thanks to constant Government efforts and more people began to observe the protocols amidst enforcement that the daily figures started to come down.

The Government tried lockdowns, containment areas and closed local borders. The measures achieved some health objectives but they were only a means to an end.

They needed to be balanced with economic considerations. The whole exercise depended on fully vaccinating at least 80 per cent of the eligible population before borders, businesses and many economic activities could be reopened. That happened on October 4.

The Government had treaded carefully. It’s measures were decided based on science and the expert advice of professionals here and abroad particularly those with the World Health Organisation. Based on these experiences the Government decided that the best way forward was to learn to live with the killer virus. It means managing it and containing and returning the country to normality.

New Zealand and Australia appear to be now following Fiji’s footsteps.

We were the first to go into lockdown with our border closure. They followed suit. This was followed by managed isolation and quarantine. We went hard on our vaccination drive knowing that it was the only way to provide us with herd immunity and protect and save lives, New Zealand and Australia started slowly with vaccination and began ratcheting it up after public concern was expressed.

As recently as last Saturday New Zealand with the help of the media held a Super Saturday vaccination drive which was successful.

New Zealand like Fiji and Australia has come to realise that the virus cannot be eliminated. It can manage it and live with it. The current level three lockdown in parts of New Zealand is beginning to cause frustration particularly to businesses that are losing money and face likely collapse. Even the wage subsidy given by the Government cannot sustain many, particularly those in the hospitality industry.

New Zealand has also adopted the no jab, no job policy for its frontliners. Now it has extended it to cover school teachers and healthcare workers. Fiji had implemented it months ahead despite threats of legal challenge.

When all these are taken in their proper context those who criticise the Government for its COVID-19 response are standing on weak grounds. And their motives look increasingly political.