Schools reopening should encourage public to be more mindful during pandemic -Health Minister

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony is appealing to the public to carefully consider decisions to leave home as the nation’s senior secondary and TVET students and teachers are back in the classroom.

The Minister said the world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and every instance in a crowd, heightens the chances of contracting and transmitting the disease.

“The reality is we are in a pandemic, but life still goes on. Even our children are going through it and they have to continue their education, and Government has put special measures to facilitate this. We are asking everyone to play their part, show concern for our children.

When we talk about social distance, I guess our understanding is that we stay six feet from each other, but social distance in a broader sense, also means if you don’t have to be at a function, or generally out in public, then stay indoors because you’re contributing to being part of a crowd when you go out for non-essential purposes.”

Dr. Anthony reiterated his call for everyone to work together to combat the deadly disease.

“I can’t direct anyone how to live because I don’t know their specific circumstance, but there are some simple things we can do: if going to the supermarkets, try scheduling shopping days and utilise delivery if possible and affordable; try grocery carpooling where we co-ordinate with other relatives and neighbours; and assist older persons instead of them going out,” the Minister said.

He added, “Avoid places where you are contributing to making up a crowd.” 

Dr. Anthony cautioned against flouting COVID-19 guidelines, saying this could have dire consequences. He is urging the public to be particularly mindful about obeying the preventative measures as the Christmas season approaches.

“As we head into the Christmas season, I think a lot of people feel that it’s time for jollification and therefore, we can suspend the rules in a pandemic. If we suspend the rules, we are going to do that to our detriment because we will see more cases, we’ll see spikes and we will see deaths. So, if we want to prevent that, that power is in our hands,” Minister Anthony said.

the Minister reiterated that obeying the preventative measures is the only surety to reduce the chances of contracting the disease.