Covid-19; From A Symptomatic To No Case In Five Regions

When the Novel coronavirus turned COVID-19 broke out in China and began spreading to Asia Europe and the Americas to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of the disease as a pandemic I have always belonged to those who believed that the disease was foreign in nature and can’t live among Africans.

However, I began softening my stands that hot climatic condition prevalent in the African continent was a major cure to the disease making me shift to the few who still abide by the health protocols on COVID-19 to the later since I heard of the increasing numbers contracting the diseases including important personalities.

I was made to believe that the virus stays in human throats and seizes breath resulting to deaths that only hot water, ginger and the likes were a precautionary measure for survival at the time where there was no vaccine.

Again perceived facts, predictions, forecasts and positions of many including the World Health Organizations, some experts in health practice and commentators who kept changing their views on the mode of transmission of the disease from airborne to man-made almost consolidated my doubt about the existence of the disease.

Though I thank God that till date not many of our people and friends in the worst-hit areas had contracted the life-threatening disease or lost their lives, the news that the recovery rate in the five northern Regions Upper East, Upper West, Northern, North East and Savana Regions is encouraging that at least we will soon return to normal life.

I am also happy that those who used nose mask to cover their faces before they could be captured on camera will soon be unmasked so their creditors for once can identify them and collect their monies owed them.

That notwithstanding, there is No doubt that coronaviruses have impacted on our society economically, socially, culturally, Health, education, religion and work.

I wouldn’t have believed same if any ‘oddii’ prophesied to the nation that a time was coming when Ghanaians would be convinced not to hug longtime friends or shake colleagues who had returned from abroad.

Fortunately, the hope of retuning to our normal life is coming where the burden of our kids being at home will be pushed to their teachers.

Anyway, I am looking forward to a day where COVID-19 AS will be a disease in history and say one good thing that it brought to the Ghanaian society was the awareness on constant washing of hands by all and the use of nose mask to avoid droplets from people.

Yet, I still have the fond memories of the active period of COVIDe -19 the name of the disease to the local people brought some humour including ‘koloso valus’ and ‘kwabena 19’.

the security forces had a tough time in enforcing the laws on social distancing making a senior police officer ‘meet his meter’ at one of the markets in Accra when he was confronted by a lady pastor who resorted to use holy spirit to fight a medical condition was not in favour of nose mask.

During that time the mentioned of alcohol-based -hand sanitizers as preventive measure was either misunderstood to include an intake of alcohol of high standard of 70 percent. In fact when the youth in my community heard about immune booster the intake of alcohol at least three (3) shorts of ‘akpeteshie’ became the other of the day. Thankfully ‘so bolo’ had its right place in the consumption of made in Ghana products.

One couldn’t help but laughed when a UTV camera captured a lady seller talking about how she uses ‘anti nantilzer’ to protect herself.

Nonetheless, I found the discus on authenticity of herbal to cure ailments as against foreign medicine important as ‘Nim’ tree usage went beyond a village or poor man’ medicine to a treatment for pandemic amongst the rich and urbanized.

In fact, the president of the Republic of Ghana is today acclaimed worldwide as best president to have fought COVID as a result of prudent measures put in place contained the spread of the disease. It was at this period that “science and data” became popular and applicable to every field.

The current information from the health directorate that the five northern regions which science and data proves are the most heated in Ghana hasn’t recorded a case for about a mount now tempts me to suggest that heat remains unfavourable to COVID.

David Fianko Okyere

UER-Bolgatanga

opomeabakwabena@gmail .com