A warthog is endowed with a speed that can easily outsprint its predators. It, however, suffers from a condition experts call pathological amnesia. That means the poor creature may take off at high speed to escape from a say hungry lion, only to forget mid-flight, slow down and start pondering about its next meal. That is precisely how humans are behaving concerning the burial of COVID 19 victims.
If my memory serves me right, the earliest victims of the HIV AIDS pandemics were also treated to a similar or worse stigma. They would be wrapped in the old Jewish style using what appeared like the plaster of Paris and laid in graves extended by two more inches. Over 30 years later, you don’t see that anymore. People living with HIV are buried just like anyone else.
What is my point, whenever, our survival is tested as is happening now, we switch on to the fearful/irrational mode and forget to consider some of the facts that can keep us balanced as we confront potential or active threats. In the long run, we shall realize that everyone, whether COVID 19 or whatever illness, just deserves a decent burial.
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We are still battling at the denial stage, but very soon (And I hope a solution is found), we shall all accept that the virus has encroached upon humankind and then engage the paradigm shift gear. It is that paradigm shift that has helped to tone down the stigma that once haunted people living with HIV. It is quite unfortunate to note that most viral outbreaks never leave entirely once they infiltrate the human host and so instead of being overly sentimental, we need to remain level minded and;
1. Do everything possible to prevent the spread
2. Treat those who test positive with dignity
3. Fight stigma because no one is bulletproof from infection
4. Intensify research to find a vaccine and other medical solutions
The governing authorities should continue rolling out new measures to curb the spread and for this to bear fruit, citizens should be as cooperative as possible. Two, medical research bodies led by WHO should keep burning the midnight oil to make sure that COVID is put under control like Malaria and others that initially threatened to wipe out humankind. And, last though not the least, religious leaders must see this pandemic as an opportunity to lead their followers to repentance and concerted petitions for God’s divine intervention.
