The Covid wake-up call we needed

Iwonder if some people still care about protecting themselves and others from Covid-19. If you asked someone who had been living under a rock before the pandemic started to walk around town and tell you what they observe, I think they’d tell you half the people they saw were wearing masks and half weren’t.

It would be quite the jump to take that non-scientific and hypothetical survey and say some people who don’t wear masks don’t seem to care about the virus. But it would seem that way to me.

Masks aren’t the be-all and endall in terms of keeping the virus at bay but I believe they are the easiest measure to follow.

Yet, last month, a snap survey conducted in downtown Tauranga for an hour one Friday at noon found of the 70 shoppers observed entering retail and food outlets, only 29 were masked.

I’m sure many readers have probably noticed similar things at supermarkets or service stations.

It was reported on Sunday that Covid-19 has been responsible for one in seven recent deaths, and is likely the leading cause of death in New Zealand for the first time.

A New Zealand Herald analysis showed that in the week ending July 17 – around the time this second Omicron wave was peaking – 836 people died across New Zealand. Of those deaths, 120 — nearly 15 per cent — were directly attributed to Covid-19.

Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker explained: “15 per cent of people dying from Covid-19 is about the same proportion of people who die from ischaemic heart disease, which is currently our single biggest killer.

“It’s also twice the number dying from stroke, which has long been number two.”

Baker also said: “of course, we all want to move on from it — but while we might be finished with the pandemic, the pandemic hasn’t finished with us.”

Herald cartoonist Rod Emmerson summed up the situation perfectly on Thursday, setting the scene of a virus behind the wheel of a speeding vehicle and a masked person in the front seat with the caption: “If 30 people died every day on our roads, we would be horrified and outraged. Sooner or later, it comes down to personal responsibility.”

That’s what I call hitting the hammer on the head of the nail.

I haven’t met a person who doesn’t want to see the pandemic in their rearview mirror but just because we’re sick of it doesn’t mean we can let our guard down.

Many people have followed the precautions for nearly two years.

But it seems some have given up because they can’t be bothered — and that is asking for trouble and contradicts our initial response.