COVID-19 IS BUT A JOKE!

The whole world has gone into a slumber following the incessant media updates on the statistics of the COVID-19. State lockdowns – whole or partial are now awash on the news and it is no more a surprise that noble men and women are testing positive. In short, the whole world has gone berserk! Thus, many conspiracies have come up including but not limited to the coming of the Doom’s Day, the wrath of the Lord, the coronavirus being a backfired biological weapon, et al. Well I’m no researcher and I cannot ascertain which is which. Nonetheless, I have my views, and I will be sharing them in my subsequent blog articles. For today, I intend to address the heightened panic over this pandemic. This writing will show that it is all unnecessary and only an emmotive reaction caused by the fear that we ourselves have created.

To begin with, the coronavirus is a multi-faceted virus whose different shades cause different diseases from the common cold to severe ones like the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) mostly affecting Saudi Arabia, South Korea and United Arab Emirates; and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which has mostly affected China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. And now, the newest is the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which has become a global pandemic. These are generrally believed to be zoonotic infections – spread between animals and people.

The COVID-19 has symptoms that majorly include fever, tiredness, flu and dry cough and these can grow from being mild to severe depending on one’s immunity. “Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing special treatment. Around 1 out of every 6 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. People with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.” https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

The COVID-19 is spread through contact with infected persons or through droplets from the mouth or nose when an infected person coughs or exhales. When these droplets land on objects and surfaces, other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. This is why it is important to stay more than 1 meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick.

There are majorly three preventive measures of COVID-19. These are: (1) washing hands frequently with soap and water and/or rubbing with an alcohol hand sanitizer; (2) avoiding to touch the face and especially the soft parts i.e. the nose, eyes and mouth; and (3) social distancing by keeping at least four meters distance from one another and most efficiently staying at home.

Fast forward, the incidence, distribution and control of the COVID-19 highlighted above is what is referred to as the epidemiology of the disease. This term was introduced to me by my father, who is a public health specialist, yesterday afternoon, thanks to the stay-at-home campaign and quarantine. He argued that the whole thing has been blown out of proportion and that the fatality of the disease is not as it appears prima facie (on the face of it). He went on to say that it can only be found out if we look at the data critically, asserting that whereas the mobility rate is high, the mortality rate is low. And thus, I studied the figures as on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website which I now write about.

First and foremost, the risk of catching the disease depends only on where you are and whether there has been the disease outbreak already unfolding there. “Illness due to COVID-19 infection is generally mild, especially for children and young adults. However, it can cause serious illness: about 1 in every 5 people who catch it need hospital care… older persons and persons with pre-existing medical conditions (such as high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease, cancer or diabetes) appear to develop serious illness more often than others.” Therefore, as already stated above, about 80% of the people recover from the illness without needing any special treatment. So, why the fuss about this pandemic? Is it not ignorance of the truth of the matter? As can be seen from the figures, the disease is not as fatal as the media portrays it to be. If you asked me, I blame the media for not giving us a concrete picture of the whole situation. This is because the media is the monopoly of information and due to this, we tend to concentrate all our energies on the pathetic news updates. To drive the point home, the news will never tell how many people have not caught the infection or how many people have survived death and recovered. It will not tell how many people from potential suspects have tested negative. Rather, it will present headlines of how Wuhan has been wiped out, how the death numbers have sprouted in the mostly affected countries, how Uganda’s virginity has been broken by some guy, how the celebrities have tested positive and how the British Monarchy is at stake! This appeals to our emotions inevitably, arousing worry and fear and depression and imaginary symptoms that send us buying tonnes of chloroquine, antibiotics (as if it is even a bacterial infection) and before we know it, we are invalids crying at the mercy of the doctors and fate!

In addition, the world statistics as per yesterday, 25th March, 2020 on the WHO website indicate that 416,686 are the confirmed cases and 18,589 are the confirmed deaths in 197 countries, areas or territories. This shows that 398,097 are those that have either recovered or not yet died. This computes to 95.5% chances of recovery and only 4.5% chances of death. Is this not laughable really? Looking at Uganda, the data provided by the Ministry of Health yesterday showed that there were 2,661 high risk travellers identified, and out of those, 1,431 completed the 14- day quarantine period, 1,230 were still under follow-up and out of the 204 tested, only 14 were positive. Again, this computes to 53.8% chances of not contracting the disease even in contamination from potential carriers, you would say, considering that these passed the quarantine test; 16.6% chances of proceeding from examination to be tested for the disease and then an incredible 6.9% of testing positive, which leaves us praying that God keeps us at 0% chance of death (hahahaha) in Uganda! Now if you think like me, isn’t COVID-19 but a joke?

Secondly, there is no need for alarm if forced to be put under quarantine. We have to understand that our actions of escape from both self and institutional quarantine are the causes of the increased mobility of the infection. I however opine that these have been reported due to the regrettable culture of corruption, misuse of office and abuse of power. Cases have been reported of Government officials who have shamelessly and forcefully refused to comply to the mandatory order of quarantine upon return from abroad at Entebbe International Airport. Other cases involve foreigners buying thier way out from the mandatory quarantine centers. This leaves us wondering whether the personnel in charge have been adequately informed and oriented about the dangers of thier incompetence. It also compels one to think that this may as well be a result of the unncessary panic that has been created globally – that one may think that we are all going to die after all! This level of hopelessness and resignation should not be because like I have shown above, the scourge can be contained.

Needless to say, without regard to the Government measures put in place out of panic as well, and because it would rather frustrate the economy after a confirmed case than before one, by adamant refusal to close the borders on time, the citizenry must be informed that everything is not as worse as it is portrayed to be, but regrettably only bad of course. It is therefore my humble appeal to everyone to reduce the panic and tension and stress over the news updates. Let us practise the preventive measures in place responsibly and sensitise our families about the same in order to maintain positivity through this rather threatening situation. Let us consider that the deaths however rampant they may seem to sprout are but only indicative of what would inevitably happen when a pandemic is realised and that these can be either contained or aided to mushroom by our actions. Let us consider that our youthful energies and immunities should not blind us to think that we cannot catch the infection and so take our lives irresponsibly. Let us also consider the elderly and those with other infections already that are more prone to suffer victim of this COVID-19 by sensitising them on how to protect themselves and where we can always keeping by thier side and saving thier lives with a token of hope, survival and longer life. Inotherwords, let us wash our hands frequently and/or apply an alcohol hand sanitizer, avoid touching the face and maintain a social distance if not keep at home.

In a nutshell, I have presented a simple data analysis that has been intended to bring back hope and to demonstarate that this is not the end. And that we shall certainly survive this pandemic as we have done even the more fatal ones like Ebola. This writing has also shown that the power to contain or spread the disease is in our hands and that the former can only be achieved by responsibly promoting awareness and practising the preventive measures in place of washing hands frequently, avoiding touching the face and staying at home or where inapplicable, maintaining a social distance of atleast 4 metres. And that by all this, COVID-19 is but a joke!