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Covid resurgence in ‘new abnormal’ of crises 

03 Aug 2022

BY Sumudu Chamara  “The threat of Covid-19 is real, and yes, we have to be careful about it. But, how we are supposed to do it is the challenge. We do not have the luxury of staying at home like before, because we have to do overtime work to manage even the basic expenses. We cannot wear facemasks for hours in the scorching sun while waiting to get some fuel. There is absolutely no way to maintain social distancing in public transport, and we cannot use our private vehicles because there is no fuel.”  These are the sentiments of many members of the general public who are affected by the worst economic crisis the country has faced at a time when a noticeable rise in Covid-19 also poses a national health risk.  A large majority of the people who spoke with The Morning was of the opinion that amidst the economic crisis, which has resulted in long queues and crowded places to obtain essentials, it is not at all practical to follow Covid-19 safety guidelines properly. Some also opined that the authorities bringing the economic crisis to an end is what will end queues and thereby make it possible for the people to stay at home without being exposed to the threat of Covid-19.  Safety precautions and queues Several persons pointed out the impracticality of adhering to Covid-19 health guidelines in the current context. Twenty-nine-year-old graphic designer L.P. Senanayake pointed out that if the health authorities are genuinely concerned about the re-emergence of Covid-19, which he said is already taking place, they should take measures to reduce fuel and other related queues.  “The health authorities have to understand that despite the high risk of the spread of Covid-19, issues such as hunger, depression and stress, and financial insecurity have become bigger issues to the people. For the ordinary working-class people, there is no alternative to waiting in queues in order to get what they want. In this context, instead of giving people advice, the authorities should step up and take some measures to reduce and make these queues more systematic.” The Government has not made wearing facemasks mandatory again, even though many urge the people to do so, Senanayake noted. In addition, he noted that the wearing of facemasks should be made mandatory again, even though it may not be followed by the people as willingly as before.  “The truth is that most people do not care about wearing facemasks anymore. In addition to practical difficulties posed by congestion at stores and various service providing institutions, the people not seeing Covid-19 as a serious health issue as before, are the reasons for this situation. I think that it is high time to make the wearing of facemasks mandatory again. Most people who do not wear facemasks already may not adhere to this, but such regulations and inspections by the health authorities in public places will encourage some people to start wearing facemasks again.” Several persons, including those who were waiting in fuel queues, also opined that the health authorities’ advice to the people to be vigilant of Covid-19 do not come off as much of a warning as they did several months ago.  Thirty-three-year-old private sector worker Harshani Rakitha noted how the people’s fear of Covid-19 has waned.  “The country has already gone through what I think are the worst impacts of Covid-19. So many people died, and so many people contracted Covid-19. There were many clusters, and also community spread, which the Government shamelessly rejected until it was too late. I think that the people have got over their fear of Covid-19. They have lost trust in vaccination as well, when even the vaccinated contracted Covid-19 and even died. I have seen people who do not take even the number of Covid-19-related deaths seriously.” In this context, she said that the first step that the authorities must take is communicating with the people in a way that the people are willing to listen to. Rakitha explained: “I think that the authorities should raise awareness among the people instead of just issuing advice, warnings, and statistics. I am not saying that they should instil fear in the people; however, the people should be approached in a way that makes them understand how serious the Covid-19 situation is or could be. Deploying the Police or the Public Health Inspectors in public places to direct the people to wear facemasks is also a good option, but not the best one, especially due to the state of the country where there are queues full of people everywhere.” However, it was also noted during these interviews that despite the fact that the wearing of facemasks has not been made mandatory again, a large number of people can be seen wearing them in public places. Several persons pointed this out, adding that the people willingly wearing facemasks is a good sign that they are aware of the dangers of Covid-19. While they noted that the wearing of facemasks in public transport is quite common, not doing that in queues is also very common. Covid-19 vaccination amidst an economic crisis Vaccination, the main strategy that the world employed to combat Covid-19, has also vastly lost its popularity among the general public, according to those who spoke with The Morning. Many of them opined that they are not interested in getting vaccinated again. “I took three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and I still contracted Covid-19, and my brother, who only received one dose, did not get it despite not adhering to any Covid-19 safety measure and being very mobile. Like a lot of people that I know, I now have this question as to what extent the vaccine protects us,” 40-year-old public sector worker Saman Wijesinghe (name changed on request) said. His main concerns were the effectiveness and longevity of the immunity against Covid-19 that the vaccine can provide. “We took the vaccine as was asked by the health authorities, but there are so many people who have not taken at least the first dose and yet live well. I know that it all depends on your immune system, health condition, and a lot of other factors. However, even international health experts have said that the vaccines can only provide very brief protection against Covid-19, and that most vaccines have not been tested for as long as other vaccines have been. My question is how long we will have to keep getting vaccinated with vaccines that have not even been tested properly. Getting vaccinated every time Covid-19 cases go up is not a good thing to do,” Wijesinghe explained. Meanwhile, 51-year-old businessman Udaya Fernando (name changed on request), said that with the fear of Covid-19 ebbing away and being replaced by the stress caused by the economic crisis, the people have stopped taking vaccines, and that it should have been expected.  “We cannot keep vaccinating people forever, can we?” he questioned, adding that the economic crisis has become the newest threat to the life of Sri Lankans, which the people are trying to manage by procuring essentials.  “The people do not have food to eat, and there is no sign of this crisis ending anytime soon. There are crises everywhere that keep worsening this situation, the biggest one being the fuel crisis which worsens all other crises. Covid-19 was just a health risk. If you look carefully, you will understand that the economic crisis is a risk in so many ways, and that it can easily overshadow Covid-19.  “People do not have the time or the willingness to get vaccinated, and that is the reality. How many people can take the bus back home after getting vaccinated when buses are crowded all the time? How many people can afford to take a taxi when taxi fares have increased by four to five times? Perhaps, if the authorities introduced a mobile vaccinating service, maybe they would be able to vaccinate more people.” Speaking about the same, several persons also pointed out economic woes becoming a more pressing issue than the health risks posed by Covid-19. Some of them opined that the people are more afraid of living with the fear of having no stable future than of dying of Covid-19, and that for better or for worse, people are unlikely to again fear Covid-19 as they did before. As was noted by the general public, people being aware of the risks may not be sufficient to get them to adhere to Covid-19 safety precautions and get vaccinated, and therefore, some kind of encouragement and awareness-raising activities will also be necessary. 


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