IT is now the last month of an unparalleled year. In “normal” circumstances, this would be the month of festivities, goodwill, and the overly commodified season many of us have come to love or at least, tolerate. This year, though, the COVID-19 pandemic demands that we recognise the importance of our personal responsibility, lest we make the pandemic worsen.
In March, the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, finally made its way to the Caribbean and Guyana. Since then, decision-makers have instituted several measures to help mitigate the spread of this virus with moderate to severe symptoms. And sometimes, I’ll admit, it doesn’t feel as though there are all these restrictions and measures in place to curb the spread of this virus. Instead, it feels as if we’re a COVID-free nation because there is scant regard for these safety measures.
Wearing a mask, practising physical distancing, and maintaining good hygiene are the steps each person can take to help protect themselves. They are simple steps but simple, perhaps, doesn’t equate to easy to follow.
I’ve written about how strange it is to travel around Georgetown, along Regent Street for example, and not see everyone with their masks on. That is because in Trinidad it was quite uncommon to see anyone anywhere in public without a mask (this has been made part of their legislation).
Since I’ve been back, as well, travelling in minibuses has caused me great anxiety. While I always wear my mask, most passengers and even drivers would not. Last week, though, the driver of one of the Linetop/BV buses I usually travel with stressed the importance of wearing masks.
On a Sunday as I was travelling to work, he told a passenger “Put on yuh mask, or yuh can’t travel in this bus.” Then, we stopped at Plaisance to pick up three women; one wore her mask properly, one wore her mask on her chin & the other did not have a mask on. He told them “No mask no entry.” This is the first time I’ve heard any driver/conductor do this and I was pleasantly surprised.
While many of his colleagues, whom I also travel with, are not keen on encouraging persons in this manner (lest they “lose” passengers), he made sure this was a priority. This really struck me and made me think even more about the role of personal responsibility in this pandemic to ensure that we keep not only ourselves and our loved ones safe, but also the people around us
The COVID–19 Emergency Measures (No. 8), which were instituted for November, tell a story too. These measures, inter alia, stated that no person shall host, attend, or visit bars, clubs, or discotheques. Emphasis was placed on minimising social activities, since such activities could be conducive to the spread of the virus. Yet, there were numerous bars and generally, “hangout spots” which were open, operational, and apparently not bound by the gazetted orders. And curfew? Was that a real thing?
The Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony acknowledged in a recent report that enforcement measures have not been as stringent, and would need to be strengthened to prevent persons from congregating in these spaces and prevent these spaces from being operational in the first place. While this pandemic has continued, these spaces have been open for business and persons have been frequenting them. Yes, there are gazetted measures in place and yes, there should be enforcement of these. But in the absence of those, it must really come down to personal responsibility. We have to be aware that going to these spaces and indulging not only endangers ourselves, but also any person we interact with afterwards. COVID-19 can be spread that easily.
This past week, the new COVID–19 Emergency Measures (No. 9) were published in the Official Gazette. Before they were published, I knew that some new decision(s) would be made to either reopen the economy even further or to support the current restrictions in place. For me, I imagined that because December is usually such a festive month, maybe the curfew would be relaxed even further or maybe there would be a minuscule reopening of bars and entertainment spots. But, that was not the case.
Relief was extended to the tourism sector which, because of the restrictions on travel and social activity, had been devastated by the pandemic. Importantly too, the curfew remained unchanged from 22:30 hrs to 04:00 hrs and social activities and gatherings were constrained to a large extent. In fact, these measures also explicitly stated that bars, clubs, and discotheques were still prohibited from reopening and being used.
This is the last month of the year and I don’t see the pandemic or its restrictions ending anytime soon. Maybe at some point I too will be annoyed or frustrated with the measures put in place to help curb the spread of the virus. But for now, just like anyone else, the onus is on me to play my part and maintain my safety.
If you would like to discuss this column or any of my previous writings, please feel free to contact me via email: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com
