March 23, 2020
These are troubling times. We wish all of you – all of us - freedom from Covid-19. The Government and the Chief Medical Officer have been clear on what needs doing – frequent handwashing with soap, staying six feet from everyone else, self quarantining if you have any symptoms (and even if you haven’t). You can be a virus carrier without knowing it, and even if you are not vulnerable, you can still spell death for someone else.
Our government is not the only one that has mentioned sanctions against those who do not observe physical distancing guidelines. They are for the good of us all. I do not want my friends, neighbours and co-workers to have permanent lung damage, and I do not want it for myself. I do not want to be an agent of transmission.
There is a clear parallel with other diseases with which we are more familiar and which have afflicted us from time to time: dengue, zika, chikungunya, yellow fever etc. , which can themselves cause lasting damage or death. Just as we know that coughs, sneezes and physical contact spread Covid-19, so we know that mosquitoes spread dengue and zika.
We cannot quarantine mosquitoes. But we know how they breed. We can make a serious dent in their numbers. We know that they need small quantities of still water, and that discarded litter and blocked drains are their nurseries. If you had, dengue of chik-v, thank a litterer.
We look forward to a time when the nation takes these avoidable diseases as seriously as we are beginning to take Covid-19, and when the government takes sanctions against those who seem intent on increasing the numbers of mosquitoes and rats – by applying the Abatement of Litter Act 2015.
Meanwhile – be safe, everyone!
Written by the Grenada Green Group (G3)