Low COVID-19 cases induce false sense of security

ARAFT of measures put in place by the government to contain the spread of the contagious coronavirus (COVID-19) as part of the lockdown imposed about two months ago have started slipping as the restless population seeks ways to go out and eke a living, amid claims that the disease’s local manifestation was less fatal than elsewhere.

With countries such as United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Italy and Spain having experienced a near-holocaust with COVID-19 fatalities running into tens of thousands, Zimbabwe’s death count — pegged at a meagre four — appears like child’s play on paper.

As of yesterday afternoon, the US topped the list of fatalities at 90 117, followed by the UK (34 466), Italy (31 763) and Spain (27 650).

In terms of infections in Africa, South Africa was still leading at 14 355, followed by Egypt (11 719) and Morocco (6 798), with Zimbabwe among the least hit African countries at 44.

Such disparities, according to Harare-based social worker Miriam Sithole, has seen a lot of relaxation in terms of measures put in place by the government — including regular washing of hands, maintaining social distance and wearing face masks in public — especially in high-density suburbs where the majority of the population lives.

“Most of these measures are habits that take years to be ingrained in an individual,” she said. “And the fact that our statistics have remained comparatively low seems to also have induced a sense of false security that perhaps as Africans we have some form of resistance to COVID-19.”

Sithole, however, warned against such complacency as it could make people throw caution to the wind with grave consequences.

“These are early days yet,” she said. “We cannot afford to drop our guard because this is a fairly new disease and we are not sure what will happen next. What if it simply takes longer to gestate in the individual?”

“The new spikes underscore the question of when or whether it will ever be safe for coronavirus-stricken countries to lift their lockdowns. Maybe this should send a reminder to countries that are on the verge of reopening of what they should expect from the infectious coronavirus,” said Sithole.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter earlier this week, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services permanent secretary Ndabaningi Mangwana said the nation should guard against complacency.

“This illness is now in our midst. The numbers keep creeping up. We just can’t afford to be complacent,” he wrote.

Public health specialist Johannes Marisa concurred, telling NewsDay that complacency was slowly creeping in, and also attributed the development to low incidence of COVID-19.

“Complacency in our country seems to emanate from a lot of factors which include the low incidence and prevalence of the COVID-19 in Zimbabwe,” he said.

“Some people are beginning to wonder if really this disease is existent. With very few deaths and low cases, the doubting Thomases for sure ignore all the necessary protective measures.”

Marisa underscored that there was need to continue educating the public about the importance of using their face masks, among other measures.

“Health education should be done about the importance of masks in the COVID-19 war. Moreover, law enforcement agents can monitor compliance. It is criminal to be in public places without a mask as defined in SI 83 of 2020,” he said.

The government recently promulgated SI 83 2020 Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020, which among other things, makes it a criminal offence for people to appear in public without face masks.

In most parts of Harare’s high-density areas including Budiriro, Glen View and Glen Norah, however, it appears that the gospel of face masks has not found many takers, with only a few people seen wearing masks in public places.

Concern has been raised especially concerning Mbare Musika after traders were allowed to resume business following the relaxation of some of the measures by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a bid to balance between public safety and business continuity. According to Marisa, it was critical to ensure effective management of operations at Mbare Musika to ensure that safety was still prioritised.

“Mbare Musika has to be managed well, with health officials keeping a close eye on public health issues to be followed like handwashing and social distancing. Market stalls should thus be erected that allow for at least one to two metres apart,” he noted.“We should strike a balance between health and economic benefits. If our cases are to be contained, then we should make sure the economy moves as well but not forgetting that we ought to be vigilant about public health measures like social distancing, handwashing, sanitisation, testing, quarantine to mention but a few. Gatherings that attract a lot of people like assemblies, churches, sports matches can remain banned,” he said. According to health experts, COVID-19 — caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strain — is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes or exhales.

Although a number of countries across the globe had eased some of the restrictions imposed as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, some were forced to close down again after a spike in infections in the wake of the relaxations.

The World Health Organisation has warned countries against lifting the lockdowns before successfully controlling infections as that could unlock a new wave of infections despite alarm bells rung by economists fearing that a prolonged lockdown could have a negative impact on economies.

Some public health experts argue that lockdowns are just a means to allow a country to strategise and gain control over the virus or devise measures that can help control the virus in case it comes back. However, this is not the case in many nations as lifting lockdowns is accompanied by a message of success and an assurance of being in control.

There may also be cases of resumed local transmission, perhaps originating from people who were asymptomatic but were silently spreading the virus. Flouting of restrictions and social distancing rules that have been put in place to protect the citizens shall not be taken lightly. Lifting lockdowns is a good initiative, but in countries where people don’t adhere to social distancing, the infection cases are likely to go even higher.

So far, of the 44 cases recorded in Zimbabwe, 13 have recovered, with a total of 24 890 people having been tested.

No cases have been recorded in Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, Midlands, Masvingo, Manicaland and Mashonaland Central.

About 4,7 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the world, of which 2,6 million are active. A total of 313 759 people have died of the virus, which is believed to have originated in the Chinese province of Wuhan, although details on how that exactly happened have remained sketchy amid a flurry of conspiracy theories.