God spare us the second strike

By Godwin Semunyu.

The world is slowly adjusting to the new normality of living with the Coronavirus. After months of lockdown, life had to go on, schools had open, and production had to restart.

Human beings are social beings. They can only be locked down for a certain amount of time. After that, all the lines will be crossed. Come what may.

While some countries went for a total lockdown to manage the spread, some countries like Tanzania and Sweden, took a different route altogether.

There is still an ongoing debate as to which of the two alternatives was more effective in managing the spreads, deaths, and protecting the economies. Developing countries suffered significant economic sways, while large economies suffered comparatively more deaths. Albeit, China, Italy, and the USA suffered a more substantial share of both.

One will link large economies' death tolls to inactive lifestyles, obesity, and underlying diseases. These factors are not so common in underdeveloped economies where lockdown had a significant impact on national and household economies where the majority are hand to mouth workers. South African Economy paid a hefty price to three months of lockdown.

One thing remains clear; Corona Virus and its subsequent COVID-19 disease are real.

Three months after the first victim was diagnosed in Wuhan, China, the virus that surfaced from Chinese seafood and poultry market, has sickened more than eight million people, killing at least 500,000 people, worldwide—leading to the world health body (WHO), declaring the situation as Pandemic.

The WHO would later tell the world to learn to live with Coronavirus, that the virus was here to stay. The new normal includes wearing masks, frequent handwashing, social distancing, and abandoning handshakes and hugs. They said.

The world responded with strict measures, the total lockdown of cities, closed borders and airspaces, closed schools, and sports tournaments, to name the few. Images of the dead surfaced all types of media, social media in abundance.

Countries started a norm of announcing each new victim, each new death, and those who got cured (not sure that's the right term). Tanzania came up with "Kupiga vyungu," a local way of nasal inhalation of steam of herbal ingredients boiled to perfection. "Kupiga vyungu" gained the highest compliments; it is touted to be amongst tourists' attractions when the dust finally settles.

The goal was to low down the curve, lowered it was. However, with the curve finally reduced, countries have also started to lower down restrictions. In many places, the much-anticipated relaxation of restrictions looked a lot like a sign of salvation; people have suddenly grown too incautious. If at all there is a second strike as the experts are saying, one is left wondered.

For instance, in Italy, authorities have warned that loosening of restrictions could be short-lived if citizens didn't adhere to social-distancing measures. Italy has suffered more death (28,000) than China, where the virus originated, yet people have quickly forgotten. "We will intervene and close the tap," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy has said, warning Italians of the dangers of bringing up the curve of infections that the country had worked so hard to suppress.

The situation is not so different in many African countries, too; things have normalized a little too fast as if Corona is long gone. Is the second strike a myth? Responsible bodies should come out clean. US President Donald Trump, one of the world's most informed man, has refused to wear the masks regardless of all the scrutiny he went through "it is just not for me," he once said.

It is of our best interest to remind each other's that the deadly various is still so much around us. We cannot afford the slip-up. Precaution is the new normal. Let's stay vigilant and protect one another.

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