New Covid-19 regulations urgently needed to enforce compliance as infections multiply

THE much anticipated Covid-19 5th wave is making its presence felt in virtually every part of the country as infections multiply daily.

Medical experts warned about the dire consequences of a new variant that could sweep across the country. Its stealthy sweep will engulf the unwary, the complacent, the ignorant and the defiant.

In a rampaging fifth wave, the government must, as a matter of extreme urgency, invoke new measures to enforce compliance with current preventative rules which are being brazenly and defiantly ignored.

A new limited lockdown should consider instructions that citizens minimise time spent in an open-air environment, and that institutions be required to install air filters and ultraviolet lights that can kill airborne viruses.

As we approach winter, infections are bound to multiply, as cold conditions serve as vehicle for virus transmission when people gather together to seek warmth and shelter.

Vaccinations have virtually ceased, a serious factor in the race to contain the spread of the 5th wave.

Crowded areas such as supermarkets, taxis and any highdense institution could be a risky environment and a possible breeding area. Unless and until we as a nation exercise strict personal control the chances of containing the fifth wave, let alone defeating it, are diminished every day as we blatantly and brazenly defy health regulations.

Covid-19 is a rapidly evolving enemy, whose venom continues to defy any medical assault.

An elusive foe, whose shadow now appears in an evolving and mutating silhouette. A formidable assailant whose viral fangs are instruments of death.

We cannot afford a new hard lockdown - the cost in terms of lives and livelihood will be astronomical. Rampaging floods have devastated our shaky economy.

A new lockdown will shatter our economic well-being. Our fragile economy will completely collapse under the strain of any stringent new measures. Poverty will escalate beyond human control.

We, as a nation, will pay the price for ignoring safety rules and regulations. Our folly will lead to hardships, discomforts, hunger and death on an unprecedented scale. The safety and future of our country is in our hands.