FROM ALL INDICATIONS It appears life as we know it may never be the same. The world has changed in a hurry, thanks to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic which has brought the world to its feet
LIBERIA AND most countries in the West African sub-region have been relaxing measures, put in place to curb the virus, over the past few weeks.
OVER THE WEEKEND, President George Manneh Weah went a step further by explaining that the country’s level of experience with the Coronavirus and its mode of transmission, the strides being made in its containment and in view of developments in other countries has prompted his administration to come to the conclusion that the constitutional measures order the State of Emergency is no longer required.
LIBERIA HAS TO DATE recorded 334 cases, with 128 still active, 30 deaths and 176 recoveries. Since April 8 when the State of Emergency and lockdown were imposed and Liberia’s first case was reported on March 16, the number of positive test cases for the deadly Coronavirus, have surpassed 300 with more than 30 deaths.
ON THE CONTINENT of Africa as a whole, more than 36 000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 1500 deaths have been recorded. According to the World Health Organization, West and Central Africa are the most hit. So far there are 11 000 cases in West and Central Africa, and 300 people have died. In the week of 13 April, cases increased by 113% in Central Africa and 42% in West Africa. But even as experts express the fears that the worst is yet to come, Liberia and other countries are relaxing measures, counting on the fact that the continent has so far been spared an explosion in COVID-19 case numbers.
THE NUMBERS while not as grave as those recorded in America, Europe and elsewhere, does give reason for skepticisms about the government’s preparedness to withstand a potential resurgence.
HEALTH EXPERTS have cautioned against relaxing measures too soon for this very reason. In Liberia, valid concerns over the efficiency of the testing protocol have led many to wonder whether the numbers being reported to reflect the actual reality.
ACCORDING TO Preliminary data from the World Health Organization, countries that implemented nationwide lockdowns found that the weekly increase in the number of new cases fell significantly from a 67% rise in the first week after the lockdown to a 27% rise in the second week. Furthermore, the initial analysis indicates that countries which implemented partial and targeted lockdowns along with effective public health measures may have been even more effective at slowing down the virus.
Three months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in sub-Saharan Africa, the WHO says much progress has been made in tackling the virus.
ACROSS the continent, many countries implemented lockdowns and key public health measures early and these appear to have helped slow down the spread of the disease. However, there are concerns that if these measures are relaxed too quickly, COVID-19 cases could start increasing rapidly.
AS LIBERIA BRACES for a return to the new normal, it is important that we all remain cognizant of the fact that the world is still a very strange and complicate place these days. This is why we must all continue to adhere strictly to all the safety measures intended to halt further spread of the virus in Liberia, including social distancing and regular hand washing and the wearing of face masks in public places.
ACCORDING TO THE WHO, thirteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa implemented lockdowns along with other public health and social measures nation-wide, while ten more instigated partial lockdowns in hotspots. Preliminary analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that the doubling time – the number of days for case numbers to double in a given country – increased during the lockdown period in most of the countries of the region. (5 days to 41 in Cote d’Ivoire, 3 days to 14 in South Africa). Seychelles started implementing public health and social measures before the notification of its first confirmed cases and seven weeks have passed since its last reported case.
AHEAD OF the end to the lockdown, curfew and reopening of the Roberts International Airport, we caution all Liberians to continue to observe the health protocols put in place as a result of the deadly virus.
WHILE WE CAUTIOUSLY welcome the relaxing of curfew from 6pm to 6am to 9pm to 6am, and the President’s assurances that “the restriction requiring people to stay indoors at a certain time of the day will be lifted in counties that have not reported any case of the disease so far,” Liberia and the rest of the world are not out of the woods.
AS MR. TOLBERT NYENSWAH, former head of the National Public Health Institute, Senior Research Associate and expert with the International health department, Bloomberg School of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University, clearly laid out in an interview with FrontPageAfrica at the weekend: “The risk of putting in place these controversial measures like lockdown, curfew, travel restrictions, that are not traditional public health measures and lifting them prematurely without explanation, has an implication that the outbreak is over. This is certainly not the case. No country globally as well as in Africa that is out of the woods yet. “It’s not over until it’s over” as we use to say during my days managing Ebola. Also we said “Ebola must go is everybody’s business”. “COVID-19 Must Go Is everybody’s Business.”
AUTHORITIES AT THE RIA have assured that it has been in discussions with relevant stakeholders, both local and international to explore the possibility of reopening the Roberts International Airport to commercial flights.
BISHOP JOHN ALLAN KLAYEE, Managing Director of the Liberia Airport Authority(LAA) told FrontPageAfricaThursday that ongoing discussions have been going on for some time with the goal of making sure that all the mechanisms are put in place before the airport is reopened for business.
Said Bishop Klayee: “In order to open the airport we have been having series of meetings with the stakeholders – Ministry of Health, the National Public Health Institute(NPHIL), the United Nations Refugee Agency(UNHCR) and the United States Aid for International Development(USAID). We have also been comparing notes with our next-door neighbors – Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea and the Ivory Coast as well as the International Air Transport Association(IATA), the International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) and the Airports Council International Europe(ACI).”
IT IS OUR HOPE that the new regulations being put in place, to include a mandatory public health concept for travelers with technology aided screening, testing and quarantine procedure, will be thoroughly implement and observed by all Liberians.
THE RELAXED measures also means that hotels, guest houses, gaming centers are also set for reopen and the President has instructed the Ministers of Transport and Health; the heads of the Liberian Civil Aviation Authority, the Liberian Airport Authority and the National Public Health Institute to publish the health protocols that will be instituted once the airport resumes operations.
AS LIBERIA BRACES for a return to the new normal, it is important that we all remain cognizant of the fact that the world is still a very strange and complicate place these days. This is why we must all continue to adhere strictly to all the safety measures intended to halt further spread of the virus in Liberia, including social distancing and regular hand washing and the wearing of face masks in public places.
A HINT TO THE WISE!!!