As some live in denial of the existence of the coronavirus, claiming it's a hoax, Covid-19 is real and is killing people.
Worse, if we are to go with the trends, the disease is here to stay as numbers of infections and deaths rising each day. We are getting to the new normal.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom recently warned, "We're asking everyone to treat the decision about where they go, what they do, who they meet, as a life - and - death decision - because they are..."
This attests to the seriousness in combating the spread of this virus. Prevention measures lie with us the citizens and we ought to religiously follow the Ministry of Health protocols — putting on masks, washing hands regularly, personal hygiene and social distancing — as the government continues to put more resources to deal with the crisis. As the Swahili saying "kinga ni bora kuliko tiba", we must prevent the spread.
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO Executive Director, Emergency Programme, ina video clip, advises that, "Every person needs to look at their own risk.You need to be aware of what local transmission in my area is. We do this every day in our lives as human beings. We manage risks, we decide when to cross the road, we decide when to fly, we decide when we have an operation or not have a operation. What we need is the information to make those risk-based information. We need to gain the knowledge to be able to make good decisions. We decide on how proximity to the other individuals. We decide on the intensity of the local engagement.We decide how long we spend in an environment. We can be advised by government. We can be advised by science, but in the end it comes to individuals and it comes down to communities. If it doesn't feel safe, it isn't safe for you."
President Uhuru Kenyatta, in his address to the public a week ago,said, "We need as citizens to hold each other accountable".
And as Health CS Kagwe fondly keeps reminding us, "You protect me, I protect you".
All these calls are important in our national quest to flatten the curve.
Derek Liech, Mombasa county
