There should be a two-week closing session because covid cases are rising
Dear Editor
There has been a proposal in the public domain about a two-week closure. Logistics here plays a big role, but first we have to analyze a number of other factors and whether or not it is feasible to close down in Guyana, when accounting for spending and including a long-term macro perspective of downsizing / delete the virus:
1. Covid-19 has an incubation period of 14 days (the time it would take for the body to exhibit symptoms)
2. Complete locking can significantly reduce Covid-19 outbreaks
3. With the introduction of mass vaccinations, it becomes easier at closing to ensure herd immunity.
4. We can have temporary facilities set up in a decentralized way to deal with potential Covid-19 cases.
5. Contact tracking and isolation can become more effective and a more accurate percentage of infected cases can be generated.
6. Measures can be put in place to ensure that a citizen’s benefit from subsidies is in utility, and that provisions are in place for them to benefit from goods and services during the closing process.
But let’s look at the flip side:
1. Lock-down costs a lot of money, accounting for spending on essential goods and services for the two-week period – goods like a basic grocery and other items that many who live on a paycheck to pay a check won’t afford rationing for that two-week period, then we need to look at subsiding utilities like water, electricity and telephone services. We would also need to find out how many facilities we have and how much we can convert temporarily into Covid-19 units to meet the potential influx of covid patients – then we need to consider things like transportation, essential medical items like respirators, beds , masks, vaccines, sanitizers and incentives for frontline workers.
2. Covid-19 has no day period when it can infect anyone, it affects everyone at any time of the day, even in and out of Covid’s curfew, so let’s assume we have lock down completely and we are opening back and Covid’s cases are starting to rise, like what happened with Barbados, the country will obviously lose billions.
3. The mentality of some Guyanese people is built on ignorance and is generally inherent in us to rebel against anything compulsory – who’s to say, with a lock in place, that one or two won’t ignorant people who would still leave their houses and interact with others like themselves?
4. We also need to understand the interests of the private sector, as their primary purpose of existence is to make a profit. They are the ones that are going to be affected and obviously we have not seen any encouragement from them to shut down nationwide. So if it happens, how will they receive it? (This is where political support will be tested.)
In conclusion, I am calling for a lock down, and I would be more than happy to help come up with a plan on how to do that. Because Covid’s cases are rising and have been at their highest since September 2020, it’s time to put the people of this country first above anything else!
Truly,
Chandradev Harripersaud