Reuters reported on Monday that some 25 people in Norway had been taken to hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning after they attended an illegal rave in a bunker in the capital, Oslo. Some 200 people were reportedly at the secret party, and because it was also literally held underground, generators were used to power the lights and music. Enclosing the generators naturally led to carbon monoxide permeating the bunker with disastrous results. According to the report, five people were critical but there had been no deaths up to that the time.
Apart from the venue not being up to code for such usage, the party was illegal because the Norwegian government had put a temporary ban on bars being open after midnight owing to a surge in coronavirus cases. The ban, the report said, was scheduled to be reviewed this month. However, in imposing it the government clearly had not taken cognisance of the urgent need that would arise among people to pay to drink alcohol, possibly smoke and/or use drugs, damage their eardrums and sweat-dance in a room of strangers. Because surely such delightful pursuits are well worth the risk of contracting Covid-19 or being poisoned with carbon monoxide.
The counterparts of the Norwegian partygoers and their host/s can be found in most places in the world and we have definitely seen them here in Guyana. The latter’s focus is purely dollars and cents and they are willing to take all kinds of risks to keep the coin flowing; the former simply have no sense. They fall into one of three categories: those who persist in the ignorant stance that Covid-19 is a hoax, those who believe themselves blessed and somehow safe, or those who say fatalistic nonsense like: ‘something has got to carry me, it might as well be this’. What they all fail to acknowledge is the strain they put on others, including their families, with their reckless behaviours; the security forces having to break up illegal parties and other gatherings and the healthcare workers obliged to fight to save their lives, having taken oaths that prevent them from doing otherwise.
There is no denying the fact that things are difficult all around. The catastrophic effects of Covid-19 in general, on the economy and on the way of life that was, are well known. They have been even more damaging because they were unexpected. No country had any opportunity to prepare for a contagious, deadly disease that quickly became a pandemic and about which all of the facts are still not known. And what is worse, all of the other problems that previously existed did not somehow disappear. If anything, some of them were made worse by the presence of the coronavirus. But it has been a while – five months in some places, longer in others – surely by now there must be some realisation of the danger that exists.
Of course, many businesses have been hard hit. It has to be difficult, if not heartbreaking, to watch everything one has worked for crumble as the economy continues to stagger. However, even if some fall as far as into poverty, that is a state from which a comeback is possible, one cannot say the same about death. Government must therefore avoid succumbing to the temptation to please one sector of society by rushing to reopen the country or ‘normalise’ things. For one thing, all of the evidence points to Guyana not having peaked yet in its coronavirus cases. Part of the reason for this is that it was and remains challenging to entirely close the borders; they are porous. Until the cases peak and curve downwards, opening up is pure recklessness. And for another, it has become clear that a return to the status quo ante is virtually impossible. Business as usual has gone out of business. Change is inevitable and any shrewd government would be looking to determine how much needs to be transformed and how quickly.
In March, while awaiting the results of the election, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had declared that Covid-19 was an “existential” threat to all Guyanese, one that did not “discriminate on the basis of your race or your religion”. It seems that it took the recent sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths for the PPP/C to shake off the lack of alacrity it has shown in tackling this threat in the month since it formed the government. But as necessary as they are, the recent re-imposition of the curfew and emergency measures are not enough. Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony spoke vaguely last week of different measures being put in place in various areas. Specifics are needed. Surely it is obvious that unless people are told what will be done and when, they will continue to act rashly. Along with testing, treating, and isolating, quelling Covid-19 will depend heavily on people changing their current behaviours. Leadership in this regard must come from the government.
