I have been reliably informed that Evening News reporter Paul McAdam has, via the Guyana Press Association mailing list, called on his colleagues in the media to pay greater attention to the swine flu situation. One can understand Mr. McAdam’s concern. This Washington Post report ominously tells us that the World Health Organization warns that we are on the verge of a global pandemic. And WHO does not throw around such warnings lightly.
I am heartened that Mr. McAdam has sounded the call for his colleagues to pay greater attention to this potential disaster. I have seen reports from Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy saying that the government is monitoring the flu virus but this is a quickly developing and changing threat and I have seen no updates since. I noted that he had warned that anyone who begins to feel ill should quickly head to the nearest medical post. Good advice I suppose but what PRECAUTIONS should people take?
I learned of precautions I should take, not from Dr. Ramsammy or the Ministry of Health but from US President Barrack Obama’s prime time news conference last night.
Life in Mexico, where the flu first broke out, is at a virtual standstill. Schools across several states in the US are closing in rapidly increasing numbers.
Why is our government not communicating with us in a more proactive manner? I see full page advertisements responding to the PNC but none telling the citizenry what they should or should not do to avoid swine flu.
Should we begin to stock up on food and water in the event that, like Mexico, there is an outbreak here and we would be required to stay home? How likely is it that we will be affected? Air travel between Mexico and South American countries, particularly Brazil and Venezuela, our two largest neighbours, is frequent and the dangers are obvious.
I am uneasy (and I am sure thousands of others are as well) but we are not getting clear, consistent, regularly updated messages from the Ministry of Health. We are effectively fending for ourselves.
And finally, just to put things in perspective a little better, remember that WHO alert? The Washington Post article claims: “the heightened alert is intended to prompt every nation to activate an emergency response plan…”
Speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
3 Comments
April 30, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Our Government has one position – i.e. Guyana’s firewall will protect it from everything from financial crises to dengue to swine flu. Why worry, be happy.
April 30, 2009 at 8:52 pm
[...] Health Organization warns that we are on the verge of a global pandemic”, Guyanese blogger Imran Khan is heartened by the call of a local journalist for “his colleagues in the media to pay [...]
May 3, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I am not sure the government of Guyana has ever fully grasped the meaning of “proactive’.
I agree more should be done about educating the public about the dangers. But at the same time going at it with a bulldozer will make everyone panic. Like any flu virus, there is not much you can do except try to keep your hands clean, keep your resistance up, and cover you coughs/sneezes.
How expensive is it to install heat monitoring devices (what do they call those things? body thermometers?) at the airport? But then CJIA is not the only port of entry, these would be needed at all major ports.
I guess that would be impossible, Guyana doesn’t have the money for that if we also want to keep our ministers as comfy as they are now.