Let’s be proactive

THE fact that the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has advised members of the public to stay home when feeling unwell and wear face covering (masks) when going outside to minimise the spread of COVID-19 infection, will attract attention.

In its statement, MOHMS revealed COVID case numbers continued to show an upward trend which was a concern.

The ministry has also noted an increase in people presenting with influenza-like illness at health centres and hospitals. The numbers, however, were “within the expected for this time of the year”.

“Some mild symptoms like runny nose, sneezing, cough, or sore throat may be similar to the common cold, however, it is not the same as the common cold, as it can lead to serious diseases such as pneumonia.

“While most people will develop these symptoms and recover in about 7-10 days, some will develop more serious illnesses that will require hospitalisation.”

On the same day last year, we highlighted the announcement by Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong about stringent measures relating to masking and social gatherings.

It came in the wake of escalating cases of COVID-19 across the country in January last year.

Dr Fong announced two deaths to COVID-19 and 1741 new infections in the seven days to Tuesday, January 4, 2022.

At the time, he said, it was evident there was a need to have in place more stringent community-level measures to enforce the message the ministry was promoting.

He spoke about social gathering and masking.

At the time we were staring at the fast-spreading Omicron variant in the face.

It raised concern, and there was fear and anxiety. In saying that, we are reminded about what we are facing now.

Our challenge is to embrace vigilance.

We know the negatives. We know the risks involved. We know the impact the virus can have on the body and we know about the fear, sense of uncertainty and frustration.

So when we talk about embracing vigilance, we should be looking at being proactive when it comes to safety.

It will mean adhering to safety measures. Otherwise we are staring at a scenario that will not be conducive to arresting the spread of the virus.

We are reminded about how thousands of Fijians were negatively impacted by the second wave which started in April 2021.

There were many lessons! We know what must be done. We know why we must stick to safety rules.

■ acknowledges his predecessors in a diplomatic fashion but not from the former.

No acknowledgement but very arrogant. The PM replied in a very diplomatic way with charisma and passion.

JIOJI O. TORONIBAU Navetau, Tunuloa