It was in December 2019 – while we had been preparing for Christmas, but were distracted by the PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition Government’s refusal to resign following their loss of the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) – that the COVID-19 virus first appeared in Wuhan, China. Little did we suspect then that the entire globe was about to be overrun by one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. It is surmised that the virus spread to the West before the end of the month, and we suffered our first fatality in March 2020. By Christmas 2020, when a new PPPC Government had been finally allowed into office, there had been 75 million cases recorded worldwide, and 1.6 MILLION deaths.
In Guyana, 6,266 cases were confirmed, and 162 persons had died. The enormity of the threat was still not fully appreciated by the populace, and even though there were restrictions in place on the number of persons in social gatherings, Christmas celebrations were still observed in the usual exuberant Guyanese tradition.
But COVID-19 continued its inexorable global march, with new waves being fuelled by the inevitable mutations of the virus – Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and now Omicron. And as of yesterday, Christmas Eve, the world figures were 278 MILLION infections and 5.39 MILLION deaths. In the US alone, with their most advanced medical care, they suffered 814,000 deaths – 64,000 more than our entire population. But even though our rates of infection and death had eased up by the beginning of this month, our infections had rocketed to 39,998, and deaths to 1,042. More persons had been killed by COVID-19 that by murders, suicides and traffic accidents.
But today is Christmas, and it says much about the Guyanese people that, in most homes – among persons from all faiths – Christmas will be observed, albeit in a more chastened form in some homes. This is a tribute to the human spirit, and we should be reminded that as terrible as the COVID-19 pandemic has been, there have been positives in the last two years. For instance, just 76 years ago, at the end of WWII, the world was swept by the Spanish Flu pandemic that took between 25 and 59 million lives, with 12,000 right here in Guyana.
Unlike then, we are now able to utilise our superior scientific achievements to create several vaccines that have served to blunt the worst ravages of the COVID-19 virus. Unfortunately, we witnessed the richer countries hogging the vaccines and refusing to fulfill their commitments for a more equitable distribution to poorer countries. However, in the latter countries, including Guyana, while the governments have paid through their noses for vaccines, a large swathe of “vaccine hesitants” has slowed down the achievement of herd immunity that would be reached when approximately 80% of the populace have either been vaccinated or infected and recovered. Even then, of course, though rare, there would always be the possibility of “breakthrough” infections and fatalities.
Today, therefore, we urge all Guyanese to observe all the protocols that we have been educated about – social distancing, masking, and sanitising of hands – plus ensuring that everyone at our gatherings has been vaccinated. While this may appear to put a damper on our usual raucous Christmas celebrations, we must be safe, rather than sorry. Let us remember that the essence of the festival of Christmas is to observe the birth of an individual who emphasised the supremacy of our social obligations to each other. To “love thy neighbour as thyself” is not confined to just thoughts, but extends to actions that demonstrate such love. The actions of love will depend on the context: if our neighbours are hungry, then we must share our food with them; if our neighbours can contract the COVID-19 virus in crowded gatherings, unless protocols are observed, then we must insist that those protocols are scrupulously followed.
This is love in the era of COVID-19. Have a safe Christmas, Guyana.
