People’s tolerance challenged by COVID blues

Frustration growing in adults in Sri Lanka and around the world is making the controlling of the COVID pandemic tougher each day. Americans and even citizens of some leading European countries are showing dissent or protesting against forced vaccination. In Sri Lanka there is a lockdown, but the huge number of vehicles on the roads in Colombo suggest that people have not taken health warnings seriously.   

Children have already begun rebelling at home. Just the other day we heard on television how a grade 10 O’ Level student committed suicide in Sri Lanka because his parents denied him of an opportunity to play games on the mobile phone.   

Critics point out that the Covid pandemic, apart from attacking the respiratory system, has begun to corrupt the minds of people forced into a lockdown.   

We saw how adults spent more time at the wine store more than at the groceries hours before the last lockdown. Adults believe that the liquor they purchased would help them kill time during the lockdown. However, health experts warn that people must stay away from alcohol and cigarettes if they are to enhance immunity and survive the pandemic. School-going kids and teenagers have an unlimited and easy access to smartphones and tabs because of the present system of online education; hence it being a challenge for parents to control the time their offspring spend browsing the internet. Parents complaining of children logging on to adult sites these days has also been noted.   

Another issue that must be mentioned is travel out of provinces during these challenging times. Despite the talk that most Sri Lankans are struggling financially their urge to spend hard cash or make payments via credit card for travel hasn’t been curtailed. Sri Lankans cannot curb their fancy for travelling. This is why we have seen clusters forming whenever travel restrictions are eased.   

Another point contested by even a good many educated citizens is whether the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) can force the vaccination on people. There was talk that the GoSL would start checking people’s vaccination cards from September onwards in the event they start visiting public places. Just for the record in Italy, in early August, tourists visiting the Vatican Museum were turned away because they failed to produce a ‘green pass’; the pass contains details of a person’s vaccination history associated with Covid-19.   

In many European countries there is opposition against the vaccination and also when the authorities demand the producing of a vaccination card when people are checked. But despite such opposition there is a surge for bookings for the vaccination. France is a good example.   

One of the key issues that should receive the attention of health authorities is whether schoolchildren could be vaccinated to enhance immunity to fight the Covid virus. Children restricted to home are leading lives far from being normal and are overwhelmed by the fact that they have been denied of school activities for 15 months. Some of these children are contemplating looking for jobs with the aim of getting a fresh start elsewhere.   

The talk about indigenous treatment also being available and demanding a slot in Covid treatment surfaces now and then. However the voices that echo aloud are the calls to reach the target of vaccinating all our citizens at least with one dose of the vaccination. We need to control this newest wave of the pandemic like we did the first time; all because these lockdowns are killing!