Garth Rattray | Getting back to whose normal?

The government frequently uses the catchphrase, ‘getting back to normal’, in its effort to encourage citizens to adhere to the anti-COVID-19 protocols of distancing, hand/surface washing/sanitisation, wearing masks properly (when among others who are not part of their family or housemates), and becoming immunised. However, many of our citizens see no need to ‘get back to normal’ because they never left their normal lifestyles throughout this pandemic.

While driving through most areas, I always notice a lack of masks and social distancing; but it was not until I was at a garage, with my properly fitted face masks, waiting on my car by standing out in the open, away from everyone, that I realised that I was the odd one out of place. Everyone else in my vicinity was mingling barefaced and close up.

Employees were carrying on with their normal lives as if there were no pandemic. I even overheard plans for late-evening, after-curfew activities. As far as they were concerned, except for the temporary inconvenience of a lockdown or a curfew, nothing about COVID-19 applied to them. No-movement measures did not stop some of their social and financial activities within their various communities. They only made very minor adjustments to their normal, everyday activities. Because of that, perhaps several of the guys already had, or repeatedly had, asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic COVID-19 infection, and therefore perceived no reason to wear masks, sanitise, distance themselves from others, and severely alter their usual activities.

Mingling without protection is extremely common all across Jamaica. Downtown, market and wholesale shoppers scoff at the COVID-19 protocols; they become annoyed at the discomfort and inconvenience that they cause. Lower-income communities that suffer overcrowding and have multiple tenants in relatively small areas, generally do not practise COVID-19 protocols. In fact, I daresay that in most close-knit communities, of any class, neighbours often ignore the protocols because they are accustomed to their friends.

ABANDON PROTOCOLS

Many businesses have employees who are so relaxed around their co-workers that they abandon all COVID-19 protocols. They come from various households, various communities, and interact with a wide variety of people outside of work hours. Yet they treat each other as if they are part of the same ‘bubble’. Such situations only prolong this pandemic by facilitating the quiet, and sometimes deadly, spread of the virus.

Many family members that live apart and are from separate communities also fail to protect one another from the possibility of becoming infected with COVID-19. Close friends and family tend to relax and forget that someone, or several among them, may be asymptomatic carriers of the plague. Restaurants are sometimes filled with families seated, dining, chatting and laughing merrily while indoor and only a few feet from other family groups doing the same thing. In fact, when we had Sunday lockdowns, Saturdays were known for having crowded recreation and dining locations.

Another problem is that many people seem to believe that being vaccinated means being immune to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Whereas the current vaccines significantly reduce the risk of serious illness, hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, they are less effective at preventing infection and the spread of the virus. The usual precautions need to be practised until we get our number of infections and fatalities consistently minimal, trending towards zero.

For most people, during this pandemic, life was always (almost) normal, or has gone back to normal a long time ago. They are just fine and cannot understand their need to wear masks, distance themselves, sanitise their hands and get vaccinated. The reports of serious illness and death are remote and abstract to them, and social media is awash with lies about the vaccines.

HIGH PRICE TO PAY

The general belief is that, over time, we will achieve herd immunity through infections and antibody production. However, when people get infected, a few will become extremely sick and die horribly. The unnecessary suffering and death of anyone is a very high price to pay for achieving herd immunity. Ostensibly, infection-acquired immunity wanes faster than vaccine-acquired immunity and may only apply to one strain of the virus at a time.

The Government missed the boat when it did not institute a COVID-19 marshal corps early last year to sensitise, encourage and monitor adherence across the island. Individuals and communities are doing their own thing. People can’t see the virus, the number of sick and dying do not scare them, and they don’t seem to realise that their actions spread the plague that leads to the suffering and deaths of their fellow Jamaicans. Ultimately, this impacts our country negatively.

Prevention remains the best weapon against this and any plague. But now, I believe that it is almost impossible to get our non-adherent citizens to sacrifice their ‘normal’ lives to reduce the suffering and death of others. Citizens that have been following the rules want to get back to their normal lives and make Jamaica an excellent place for business investments and a great destination for tourists. Unless everyone participates in fighting COVID-19, by wearing masks properly when indicated, distancing, hand sanitising, and becoming vaccinated, many of us can never return to our normal lives. We can expect repeated, interruptive and deadly waves of COVID-19 for many years to come.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.