Blame it on the people!
Kaieteur News – March has been a deadly month as it relates to COVID-19 in Guyana. Four people lost their lives yesterday and at least two more people are likely to die before the end of the week.
Twenty-one COVID-19 deaths have been recorded so far in March. This is more than the COVID deaths recorded in December and January, when there were only 13 deaths each. Last month, February, there were 20 deaths.
However, the government does not accept blame for this catastrophic situation. Two hundred and twenty (220) people have died so far, as the government continues to challenge responsibility and blame for this situation.
Allegations were leveled at the old government. APNU + AFC was accused of under-reporting deaths. Yet, as yet, the person making this allegation has not submitted a piece of evidence to support this accusation.
The political games must end. When it comes to life and death decisions, there can be no place to play political games. The government was determined to reopen the economy; irrespective of the results and accused the APNU + AFC of low levels of testing, a justifiable criticism, and then also suggested that under-reporting of deaths was not enough.
The public is also blamed for being irresponsible and not adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. But the government takes no blame for throwing away its own regulations.
The government seems to have a penchant for organizing public gatherings. He loves to hold meetings with the public in large outdoor venues. In most cases, the COVID-19 regulations are found to be in breach.
A few days ago, there were photographs and video footage in the media about outreach from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. The photographs and photos showed clear evidence that COVID-19 regulations were being followed in the breach.
An event like this should never have been organized during this time, when infections are increasing rapidly. These events aim to ‘take services to the people.’ They are window dressing. They reveal problems with the delivery of public services, which cannot be remedied by a one-off event of taking services to the people. And it was very irresponsible for the Ministry to have undertaken such activity in the midst of a pandemic, as it is not a sustainable or cost-effective measure.
The government now wants the law enforcement agencies involved in tougher enforcement of COVID-19 regulations. But the government knows about the problems in doing so.
Every afternoon, a group of traffic policemen lurk at the junction of Church and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, waiting to jump on non-fatal motorists stopping at the junction. On most days at least two junior ranks are involved in this type of catch.
And yet, police ranks would observe people who were not wearing masks in public and do nothing about it. But they would stand at this particular junction every afternoon, during peak hours to harass motorists for failing to stop.
The law enforcement authorities have been loose in enforcing COVID-19 regulations. Operation COVICURB started with a blitz and then exploded out into a blaze. But what about government responsibility?
Surely the increase in deaths and numbers, and the fact that there are more than 900 active cases, should have led to the reintroduction of restrictions that were previously eased. But the government is not in a mood to return to any of the previous restrictions that have since been lifted or relaxed.
When there was a large increase in cases in Canada and the United Kingdom in December, those two countries went on locksmiths, which in turn brought more moisture to the Christmas celebrations. Germany is now on lockdown. Only now is the United Kingdom easing its lockdown. France and Poland are intensifying their lockout measures. Some states in India are about to go into lockdown mode. The Pan American Institute of Health warns of a rise in COVID-19 infections in the Americas. But in Guyana, the government blames the public and does not impose any stricter restrictions.
More than 300 people are going to die in Guyana at this rate. And when it’s all done, a Commission of Inquiry is needed to decide who advises the government about this pandemic and whether the government is listening.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper.)