IN THE CLAWS OF COVID

ZAMBIA is well and truly in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic. The paroxysmal attack of the pandemic is evidenced in the increased number of BIDs (brought in dead) in hospitals throughout the country.

This is a national emergency which calls for urgent measures to step up the fight against coronavirus also known as Covid-19.

Stories of people dying in unexplained circumstances such as collapsing at home and being declared dead at the hospital or clinic are now common.

This is frightening and should be a concern to every Zambia. It would be foolish at this stage for any sane person to down play or ignore not only the existence Covid-19 but the danger that it possess.

We do not think that this is a country of foolish people who would ignore a danger so stark in reality that even our health facilities are fast becoming overburdened.

If we continue on this dangerous and ignorant path of ignoring preventive measures from experts, we will be consigning a good part of the population to early graves because hospitals will not be able to cope with the increased demand.

The country may reach a stage where there will be more people in need of treatment for Covid-19 than the existing sector can handle. This is what would lead to a catastrophe which the country has been warned about.

The health experts have advised that everyone without exception should mask up. However, very few people are observing Covid prevention guidelines.

Despite President Edgar Lungu making the declaration many times about masking up being mandatory, this has not been enforced. In his last two addresses to the nation, the President made it clear that wearing of masks in public was mandatory.

By implication this would have entailed that everyone walking on the street, entering a shop or using public transport such as buses, would be required to wear masks. However, this is not the case, as very few public places enforce this measure.

If anything, bus drivers and taxi operators have deliberately ignored wearing of face masks, to the extent that passengers cannot therefore be expected to respect the rule.

This, must change. The nation is faced with a crisis. A Covid crisis that experts had warned about and which might get worse.

It is time to get serious and tough. This is no time for rhetoric warnings.

Like Mr Ishmael Kankhara of Capital Buses has put it, wearing of masks in public should be made mandatory now in view of the surge in Covid cases.

There may be other ways of handling the crisis, such as enforcing a lock down, which might have far worse impact on the economic situation of the population.

But something has to be down. The country cannot cast a blind eye to the explosion of BIDs in the community.

People of all ages and with a different range of health issues are suddenly dying at home or in a health facility after being rushed there at the point of near death.

This is a crisis and critical decisions must be made now rather than later. It may be too late to act later. The number of BIDs recorded in hospitals may be just a tip of the ice berg.

We shudder to think of those of our brothers and sisters without access to health facilities who are burying relatives without precaution because they have no way of knowing the source of death is Covid.