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It has been more than five months since COVID-19 began to officially spread in this country. The amount of care that has been taken to prevent the virus, the number of official security measures implemented by the government, and the level of fear of the virus among citizens can be described by a bell-shaped curve. Currently, I think we are on the downward slope of the curve that comes after the peak. People are getting tired of taking safety measures or getting used to living with the virus. I think it is more the latter than the former. I think we are approaching a time when the virus is considered the common flu.
The last few days I was in a private hospital and I had the opportunity to observe how many health professionals are exposed to the virus in this country and, in turn, expose the rest of the population. The hospital is one of the best in the city and has all the means to equip its facilities with the appropriate security equipment. However, I have observed that nurses do not even wear gloves when treating patients. He hoped that every time a nurse treats a patient, he or she will wear a glove that they will immediately dispose of once the patient has been treated. So with bear hands, they touch one patient and move on to the next and the next. One can imagine how fast the virus can spread in this way.
In my neighborhood, I have seen a group of neighbors get together and play volleyball on a daily basis, including children. I understand that humans are social animals. But gathering in crowds and exchanging bodily fluids like sweat and saliva in a situation that doesn’t allow wearing masks is, I think, a suicidal decision. People have simply become careless and tired of isolating themselves. We hear that a large group of people got infected with the virus because they attended a funeral, but still people decide to go to the funerals and the ceremonies that follow and expose themselves. Personally, I have seen a very long queue of cars parked by an Ethiopian Orthodox church for the sole purpose of attending a funeral. I guess most of us firmly believe that we are immune to the virus unless it has finally happened to us.
Schooling in a time of COVID-19 is one of the trickiest things I am usually asked about. A couple of days ago, the government announced that schools can start registering on the condition that proper security measures are taken. Most likely, the registration will be done in person. And I wonder how schools, and public schools in particular, will make sure all the precautionary measures for records are in place. My biggest fear is that the government will allow physically assisted schools to open soon. Just because schools in the US and Europe have done it doesn’t mean we should. I cannot imagine how far the virus will spread among students, and particularly among children, if the government makes this decision. My heart truly goes out to those parents who will have to send their children to school and I am thankful that I am not yet one of them. I believe that parent committees and others should do everything in their power to resist such a government decision.
Life since COVID-19 is no longer the life that Ethiopians have long enjoyed thanks to our strong social ties and the frequent reunions that made us Ethiopians. But I guess we have to live with the fact that such a life is unlikely to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, let’s take care of ourselves and others.
