THE government has mastered the art of propaganda but when it comes to COVID-19, this false bravado has fatal consequences. The long prophesied fourth wave is upon us and much more deadly, it appears.
An assurance by the Vice-President and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga that there was no need to panic in the face of the Omicron variant detected by scientists in South Africa speaks to recklessness on the part of a government that should be honest with its citizenry in such matters of life and death.
The “don’t panic” advice is the worst to come from a senior government official who superintends over a decayed health delivery system.
History has taught us that whenever government gives the “no need to panic” pronouncement, the nation needs to be extra careful, just like what happened with the third wave which was precipitated by the Delta variant.
As a country, the mere proximity to South Africa and Botswana, where the variant has been detected, means there is a 100% chance that the variant will hit our shores, if it has not done so already.
Given the porous entry points between Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries and without being alarmist, the next few weeks will be telling.
Zimbabwe is not prepared, and the poor uptake of vaccines means that it is time to be scientific, not political about managing the pandemic.
Government should not adopt the ostrich mentality of burying heads in the sand and pretend that all is well, and then abdicate the responsibility of fighting the new variant to the citizens.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The country has lost nearly 5 000 people to COVID-19 so far, including ministers, senior officials and high-ranking military personnel.
There is absolutely no need to give people false hope, we must, instead, be looking to enforcing the mandatory masking up and other World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations such as social distancing and sanitising.
The only voice of reason should be from experts and they are saying we are faced with a crisis.
What is needed now is to understand more about the monster variant we are dealing with, which WHO has described as the “variant of concern” and forced Europe to ban flights from southern Africa.
The new variant — identified as B.1.1.529 — has been named Omicron.
The mutations identified in Omicron have raised concern that the variant could be much more transmissible than the Delta variant and has reduced sensitivity to antibody activity induced by immunity from past infection or vaccines.
Zimbabweans have become complacent lately and lowered their guard, and the government must now focus on ensuring strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines and protocols, not being purveyors of false hope when it is obvious that we are facing an unprecedented health crisis.
