To The Loved & Dear Ones We Have Lost Through COVID-19
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- February 4, 2021
Pandemics come and go. But the people we lose during pandemics do not. I mull over this statement as I listen to the 1 pm news in the sweltering heat of February. Even the weather is not happy.
Several companies have their vaccines ready for use to fight the deadly coronavirus. They also warn that people should not yet be happy. That they should hold their ululations and the reason, another strain of the virus is emerging in several countries across the globe. It means stricter measures are needed to prevent the uncontrollable spread of the new strain.
As if the damage done by the novel coronavirus has not dealt enough blow to humanity.
As if the time lost staying indoors has not been an expression of enough fear in people’s hearts.
As if the meagre economic status globally is not enough to show the many backward steps humanity has had to take to retrace where it all went south.
Corona in the Month of Love
February is the month of love. Not like humanity never expresses love during the other months of the year. On the contrary, the expression of love takes a significant portion of the day-to-day activities of humankind. But 2021’s Valentine’s Day will be different. For the first time in a long time, people will be advised to choose to stay home over going out with their dates for Valentine’s Day celebrations.
Again, social distancing is preferred over gatherings that would create environments that encourage the spread of the novel coronavirus. But as we keep social distance and still share with loved ones, we must not forget the loved ones we have lost during this period of ravaging pandemic. Because despite having gone away from our midst, they still live in our hearts.
To the ones we love
Research studies revealed that the novel coronavirus could spread through close contact during social gatherings. As a result, the government and other health industry stakeholders cautioned against unnecessary meetings to limit the potential for high infection rates. It meant sacrificing the love for social gatherings for the gain of protecting loved ones, especially the very old and very young who faced a higher risk of not only infection but also an increased threat to their wellbeing.
Loved ones lost time spent during special occasions to share and reminisce.
More importantly, individuals stayed away from their loved ones who were deemed to be more at risk of infection and related adverse health impacts.
So here is the lost times’ humanity could have spent with loved ones and the loved ones lost when society thought they gave their whole to prevent high rates of the coronavirus infection.
To our last line of defence – the Healthcare Workers
The pandemic period has revealed to humanity the importance of a working healthcare system. It has shown the measures that all stakeholders should take to ensure adequate financing so that useful resources exist to enable care delivery effort to the people who need the services the most. Furthermore, the period has acted as a reminder of the importance and the role healthcare workers play in delivering care services like the foot soldiers during health crises. However, the realization only came after losing a significant number of healthcare workers to the virus that they set out to fight. The situation revealed the poor state of the relationship that the government has with care providers. As a result, the foot soldiers remained vulnerable to the menace that they put their lives on the line to fight.
Globally, as of 3:59 pm CET, 3 February 2021, there have been 103,362,039 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2,244,713 deaths, reported to WHO. Among the lives lost, healthcare workers form a significant portion. The pandemic’s onset pushed doctors to work as they warned citizens about the coronavirus’s potential implications.
As the virus spread, doctors set out to offer treatment for a disease that they barely understood due to limited information.
Still, other healthcare professionals participated in rigorous research to improve the understanding of the virus that adversely interfered with humanity’s wellbeing. And as the pandemic worsened globally, healthcare workers worked tirelessly to offer care at different patient levels.
The proximity to the virus exposed healthcare workers to the risk of contracting the disease; hence, many succumbed to coronavirus-related complications. However, their departure from our lives is a reminder of the sacrifices they had made to protect humanity.
Their acts of courage will forever live in our minds and hearts.
