Covid-19 inSL: the need of the hour

These are indeed tedious days when a state of cataclysmic pandemonium reigns supreme. The nasty little blot of a coronavirus is causing absolute havoc and untold misery right around the globe. In fact, it has totally controlled the world for the last eighteen months or so and there is no respite in sight. Instead, there is tremendous uncertainty, unbridled anxiety and unmitigated doubt about the future. People are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel but to all intents and purposes, there is none to be seen; not as yet anyway. As for us, there is utter despair in the entirety of this island nation.

1. There are worrying stories of all kinds; of viral mutants and variants, of the blck fungus and the Covid tongue, our closest neighbour India reeling under the likes of an onslaught hitherto unseen, our local politicians blaming each other, health personnel advising on many aspects of control measures that need to be undertaken to curtail the further uninhibited spread of CORONA-19, the economy of the paradise isle being in shambles, our inability to get adequate stocks of effective corona vaccines, the education of the young being a poignant picture of a debacle, the government in a quandary being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.., and the list goes on and on and on. Add to all these woes, the spectacle of some recalcitrant lawmakers, and the eternally hostile picture is somewhat complete; well…, almost.

The buzz-words, TOTAL LOCKDOWN, CURFEW and COMMUNITY-SPREAD are anathema to many, including the decision-makers. They avoid using them, particularly the last one, as much as possible. However, as for these words which many of our powers-that-be detest, we can only say with sincere apologies to the great bard William Shakespeare, for paraphrasing what he wrote in Romeo and Juliet; even excreta by any other name would smell as bad.

The common man, every single citizen of our beautiful island, is most regrettably and sadly caught in the crossfire. They are suffering mentally and physically, as they have never ever been called upon to vacillate before. Their travails are never-ending and there does not appear to be a decent future for us. It is perhaps time for this writer to attempt to drop his medical leanings and put himself in the shoes of the common man who was responsible for the societal position that the writer holds now. What can we do as a nation? How can we, even as individuals, do our bit to save our homeland?

It is quite relevant to remind our populace of the iconic words of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th and the youngest-ever Head of State of the United States of America, as he proclaimed during his Inaugural Address on 20th January 1961. Those immortal words were “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”. Well…, substitute the phrase ‘Sri Lankans’ to the word ‘Americans’ and there you have it. What can we ask for and certainly do, for our little island?

Indeed, there is a whole lot that we, the common citizens of this resplendent isle, can do at present. We simply have to do all we can to prevent the spread of the virus, avert untold misery, cut down on the increasing demands made on the medical services to prevent their being completely overwhelmed, and most importantly, prevent deaths.

Currently, there are selective lockdowns and prohibition of all kinds of unnecessary human movements imposed in the island. It is the prime duty of every single one of us to abide by these requirements. Is it really necessary for the police to have checkpoints, arrest violators of the strict instructions issued by the authorities? Should compliance with the instructions be undertaken only because of possible punitive actions that may be taken by the forces? Should it not be through our dedication to Mother Lanka? Let us face it, compliance should be by wilful cooperation rather than by enforced compulsion. Should it not be because of the conviction that it is for the greater good of the entire nation? Where is the public-spiritedness of our people? Where is our social responsibility? There you are, Sri Lankans; it is for every one of us and our children.

The vaccines will come in adequate amounts in due course. The state is making a committed and determined effort to get the vaccines and immunise the entirety of the vulnerable population. However, it is likely to take some time and once the necessary doses are administered, it will take months to kick in with the necessary quantum of herd immunity. Yet for all that, what about the despicable lot of queue jumpers, the influential and the rich who managed to circumvent all principles of prioritisation based on clinical and epidemiological needs? They have so far behaved with a degree of selfishness that is intensely contemptible, to say the least.

It is of the essence and absolutely vital that every single one of us takes it upon ourselves as a sacred duty to abide by all the health guidelines to try and win this war against an unseen enemy. We cannot help but even shout from the rooftops about the undisputed importance of the benefits to be accrued by social distancing, washing of hands and the proper donning of face masks.

These should be the immediate measures that need to be implemented by one and all, come what may and come rain or sunshine. There is compelling evidence from those countries that have been successful in controlling this pandemic that these public health measures do work, ever so well at that.

In fact, in the circumstances that we are in now, even double-masking, with the most effective mask being worn to be in direct contact with the skin of the face with the less effective ones like cloth masks being worn over them, would be an effective step in the right direction. Even those who are adequately vaccinated must follow these basic preventive measures as it is well-known that even those who are vaccinated could still contract the virus and thereby contribute towards its spread.

The 32nd President-to-be of the United States of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in the Acceptance Speech of his nomination as the Democratic Party candidate at the 1936 Democratic National Convention said “To some generations, much is given. Of other generations, much is expected. This generation of Americans, has a rendezvous with destiny”. At this crucial juncture, we in Sri Lanka do indeed have a date and a rendezvous with our destiny. We are called upon to frame our future. It is entirely up to us to decide whether we survive this catastrophe or perish. Let us, each one of us, resolve to put our house in order BEFORE we try to apportion the blame for the goings-on fairly and squarely on the doorsteps of others.

We have come through three periods of occupation and domination of our land by Western powers, we have suffered the vagaries of two World Wars, we have survived civil strife and insurrections many a time, and more than anything, we have withstood the 30-year onslaught and civil war by a terrorist ensemble that has the unsurpassed reputation of being the most ruthless and merciless, that our planet has ever seen. We have shown our resilience in the face of adversity, time and time again. It is time, yet again, to let our history repeat itself.

All it needs is our dedicated and unbridled commitment to the cause, together with, of course, censorial and unbending leadership of the highest mettle to guide us.