Research Fellow at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), Dr. Augustina Sylverken has advised government to go back to the drawing table to find lasting and implementable measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus virus in the country.
She stated that she is worried about the alarming rate at which people have stop wearing their face masks and going about their daily activities as though the virus does not exist anymore.
“I mean you step outside there and you may really be the only one in nose mask. It’s quite surprising when you even go into shopping malls, they may have actually displayed signages indicating adhering to physical distancing, wearing of nose mask.
“But you want to check out…you get to the checkout tellers, and you realise that they themselves are not in nose mask,” she noted.
Dr. Sylverken, who is also a Senior Lecturer, Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) noted that, people abandoning their nose masks is a big flaw in the country’s fight against the virus. This, she attributed to the fact that, people are relaxed and assume that “the virus has vamoosed someway, somehow.”
She further added that, with the emergence of new variants all over, there’s the need to “go back to the drawing table as soon as possible.”
However, she said, for Ghana, there have not been any confirmation of a new variant of the virus.
Howbeit, she said, considering that government has not looked into the matter, it can be assumed that there is no new variant of the virus in the country.
Dr. Sylverken urged everybody to wear their nose masks properly to avoid contracting the virus and possibly spreading, if they are infected while observing all the other safety protocols.
She, nonetheless, commended government’s efforts in bringing the virus under control, but added that, without the compliance of everyone in the country, government’s efforts will be in vein.
Reopening of Schools
Dr. Augustina Sylverken noted that, preschool pupils are the most venerable because of their inability to cater for themselves. In that regard, she admonished parents to start teaching their young ones how to wear their nose masks and keep them on for as long as they need to, while getting them used to respecting the other protocols.
She said “we know that with this very new variant, in South Africa, very young people end up being affected.”
New Variant
New variant of the coronavirus has been reported in a couple of countries so far.
In England, a new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified across the South East of England. The variant was identified due to Public Health England’s (PHE) proactive and enhanced monitoring following the increase in cases seen in Kent and London. The variant has been named ‘VUI – 202012/01’ (the first variant under Investigation in December 2020).
As of 13 December, 1,108 cases with this variant have been identified, predominantly in the South and East of England.
Health experts are arguing all and sundry to adhere to all COVID-19 safety protocols in order to protect themselves and their loved ones from getting infected.
