The country has reached a critical phase in its battle against the raging Coronavirus, with daily infections touching the 3,000 mark and the death toll exceeding 150.
These are numbers that no one imagined even a few months ago when the disease was somewhat tamed in the country.
However, the carelessness of the masses during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period and the massive breaching of the subsequent travel restrictions did lead to a surge in cases, this time helped by the emergence of a new mutation of the virus, called Delta by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Delta should be considered our number one nemesis at this time, since it is 100 per cent more transmissible and much more contagious (and probably more lethal) than the original Coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China at the tail end of 2019.
Virology Expert Dr. Chandima Jeewandara of the Sri Jayewardenepura University has warned that taking one’s mask off even for five seconds in certain places could give Delta a chance to enter the lungs and cause an infection.
But he has also pointed out that there is a chance to save the outstation provinces from the ravages of Delta since its spread beyond the Western Province has so far been minimal. For this to happen, the inter-provincial travel restriction has to be very strictly enforced.
The other fear with regard to Delta is that it could cause “breakthrough infections” even among those who have been vaccinated, regardless of the vaccine brand taken.
The danger here is that although 100 percent of the eligible population of over 30s (11.6 million out of the total population of 21.9 million) has received the first dose, this goes down to 35 percent (four million persons) when it comes to those who have had both doses. The unvaccinated and even those who have had the first dose are thus susceptible to the Delta variant.
This is why it is urgently required to expedite the vaccination program in the most populous Western Province first and extend the program to 18-30 years olds.
It is also important to ferret out those who have not yet come forward to get the jab due to whatever reasons. Some may be having genuine medical reasons and others may be unable to leave their homes for a vaccination centre, but there is a suspicion that some may have fallen prey to anti-vaccine misinformation that is rife on the Internet.
These misconceptions should be cleared by medical experts over the mainstream media in order to build up confidence among those who may be harbouring doubts about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.
In this regard, the Government deserves plaudits for commencing two programs to find out about those who have still not got the vaccine despite fulfilling the age criterion.
In the first one, the Police, Grama Sevakas and Local Bodies go door to door to survey those who are holding out on the vaccine and then they even provide transport to the nearest vaccination centre.
In the other program commenced by the Army on the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, mobile vaccination teams from the Army go to the doorsteps of those who pre-register for the service (via two telephone hotlines) and vaccinate them.
Their brand new vehicles and ambulances are equipped with the latest clinical and cold chain equipment. This is a godsend for those who are unable to leave their homes due to old age, disability, disease or other reasons.
The service, still functional only in the Colombo City and a few other areas of the Western Province is likely to be extended to other parts of the island.
With vaccines coming to one’s doorstep, there will be no more excuses for evading the best possible protective measure against the contagion.
All hope is not lost in the battle against the Coronavirus. Last week, the country quietly passed the milestone of 300,000 recoveries from Covid – in fact, only two newspapers even reported the story – but it is a major achievement given the scale of the Covid spread.
This is a recovery rate of over 90 per cent and a creditable achievement for our Health Services, Security Forces, Essential Services and all others who contributed to the anti-Covid drive.
Yet, our health authorities should be on guard against ‘Long Covid’, a long-term manifestation of certain Covid symptoms in those who have recovered from Covid.
It is thus important for the health authorities to follow up on the post-recovery phase of these individuals. So far, there is no indication that such a process is taking place.
Long Covid is a condition that occurs when individuals sickened by Covid-19 do not recover fully after a few weeks or manage to recover, only to have symptoms reappear weeks or months later. It can affect anyone who has had Covid, even if they had mild or no symptoms.
There is a wide range of symptoms that include: Tiredness or fatigue; difficulty in thinking or concentrating (referred to as “brain fog”), headache, loss of smell or taste, dizziness on standing, fast-beating or pounding heart (heart palpitations), chest pain, difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath, cough, joint or muscle pain, depression or anxiety and fever and symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities. In short, Long Covid affects the entire body.
Thus the battle against Covid should continue on multiple fronts without dropping our guard any time soon, even if the vaccination drive succeeds. The novel Coronavirus is a devious, evasive and dangerous enemy and we should muster all resources to fight it on a local and global scale.