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Mbuso Ndlovu, Features Correspondent
ONE thing that Covid-19 has remarkably achieved is to expose the glaring disunity among the United Nations of the modern-day world.
Hit by a pandemic whose virulence they could not comprehend, various developed and not so developed countries quickly set up Jericho Walls in an effort to keep out the virus.
The panic and despondency has never been seen before, not even the HIV and Aids monster could muster such attention.
Friends quickly differed on ways of tackling the new virus.
Led by the United States, the laager mentality soon became the norm especially when the European Union quickly followed suit.
Asia and Latin America could not be left far behind.
As not unexpected with our ubuntu, we do not shut out a neighbour in distress.
Africans do not shutter windows when a neighbour wails in pain.
Instead, we converge on the scene and render assistance before professional help arrives.
Hence, we were shocked, nay, saddened when good neighbours, France and UK, Italy and Spain kicked each other in the mouth by ordering citizens to return home and desist from visiting each other as figures of infected and deceased mounted.
So-called red lists, which turned out to be discriminatory, racist and anti-poor, were drawn up and land, sea and air borders were mounted and padlocked.
The global village of united nations was gone within weeks.
Every country drew up solutions that in most instances were “schismatic” discouraging contact with others.
The rich and poor divide became clear as the rich north sought to save itself by hoarding all lifesaving vaccines until it was realised that the virus did not respect man-made borders.
As usual with disdain the poor south was then offered extremely expensive “donations” at a time when the human race seemed on the brink of extinction.
Friendly but sanctions encumbered Cuba offered medical personnel while as hugely expected China and Russia, just like during the anti-colonial wars for freedom, quickly availed millions of vaccines for the survival of African friends.
The nature of integration and co-existence among nations cannot be sustained in a ruptured world with imaginary walls all over.
The virus has been changing form from one region to another.
It thus came as a surprise when the UK led the West in shutting out Southern Africa in the wake of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.
The region was targeted by Britain because South African scientists were the first to discover the variant ahead of Europeans not that it wasn’t in Europe by then.
A red list of 11 African countries to which travel was banned was quickly announced. Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe saw travellers cancelling their bookings while airlines, among them British Airways’ Comair scaled down flights or suspended them.
Nigeria called out the British describing the move as racist as it listed Africans only yet Europe had the world’s highest Omicron figures.
Tourism has particularly been affected with medical insurance not certain or hiked in red areas. Instead of coming together we saw shunning of each other and localisation of solutions leading to disharmony.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that Omicron was spreading at unprecedented levels throughout the world and was no longer an African issue.
The UK Health Minister, Mr Sajid Javid in apparent agreement as he lifted the red list ban told the UK Parliament on Tuesday that, “Now that there’s community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the country, the travel red list is now less effective in slowing down the incursion of Omicron from abroad (Africa).”
President Mnangagwa and SA’s Ramaphosa had observed this from day one that Europe had more cases than Africa and in fact Zimbabwe had no case at all when the list was compiled.
Anthony Phillipson, UK High Commissioner to SA diplomatically explained that the UK has realised that the travel ban was ineffective and won’t keep the variant out but slows it down.
He acknowledged the disruption of travel and business since November but emphasised that the ban was not casual, vindictive or haphazard but well considered.
Through local conversations with partners, he understood the impact of the variant on SA and Sadc.
He vehemently denies economic sabotage accusations despite the evidence around him.
Nigeria has not taken the ban lying down.
In equal measure it has decided to reciprocate with a travel ban on those countries that have imposed it on its citizens.
Such countries include Canada, UK, USA and Australia.
On the other hand, Ghana is tackling the virus differently by imposing a US$3 500 fine on airlines for each unvaccinated passenger brought in.
Airlines are forced to monitor compliance although returning Ghanaians who left the country three days before the law took effect on 12 December will be exempted.
Elvis Darko, editor of Finder newspaper, says Ghana has been effective in managing the crisis and having low figures from the onset.
Passengers aged above 18 without full vaccination certificate are fined too.
This is because new cases have been from the airports although there have been (only)1 200 deaths since last year.
Ghana decided to speed up vaccination by declaring December as Vaccination month.
Airport tests revealed lots of cases and government closed land borders in March 2020 with serious consequences for the economy.
Only fully vaccinated people are allowed in, with a test on arrival. It is a fundamental right to decide on vaccine but people are forced not to travel out of the country.
With airlines forced to carry only vaccinated people, it is difficult to carry the unvaccinated.
Airlines must check and test passengers to make sure they don’t flout the rules and they can’t take chances.
A committee consistently reviews the situation on the ground and flouters are arrested and taken to court for not wearing a mask properly.
Enforcement in Ghana according to Darko is effective especially the ban on public gatherings.
Seeking home based solutions, the Kenyan government has imposed a ban on unvaccinated people from public places.
However, the High Court has suspended the order temporarily until 4 January 2022 when the case opposing it will be heard.
Government wants 10 million to get the jab but only a million Kenyans are vaccinated despite some businesses barring unvaccinated people from their premises.
Vaccine skepticism could be countered by education and Advocate Evans Ogada, a Kenyan constitutional law expert says government has of late suffered many losses in court.
He points out that mandatory positions have not been easy to enforce.
Europe’s biggest economy Germany, for instance, is struggling to impose mandatory vaccination.
It seems contradictory that as Omicron is spreading, people won’t access public health facilities unless vaccinated.
To make matters worse so-called antivaxxers in the eastern parts of Germany have turned brutally militant, attacking any official who supports vaccination.
Lives and property are under armed attack by groups that are increasingly becoming hoodlums, worsened by the wide gap in development between the east and the western parts of the country.
The unvaccinated Kenyans will be banned from life-saving services at hospitals, schools, transport, immigration, bars, shops, churches and sport venues.
Article 43 of the Kenyan constitution speaks of a right to access medical care so government can’t enforce ban constitutionally.
But there is an argument that rights can be curtailed for the public good but majority rights can’t necessarily supersede individual rights.
Mr Ogada says strong arm tactics like police and army have been used to enforce Covid-19 measures instead of partnering people and educating them on the vaccines.
Fear and restrictive measures have not been effective and there might be a need to change the law making it mandatory to vaccinate.
However, Kenyan politicians who are facing an election next year are not following Covid-19 protocols at rallies.
Individualism is also apparent in the US where the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says they have crossed the 800 000 deaths milestone with many rejecting immunisation.
There are many with mild symptoms among the vaccinated but unvaccinated people in the US are 14 times likely to die of Covid-19, driving death figures.
Dr Anthony Fauci, president’s advisor on health discourages festive gatherings unless people are fully vaccinated and or boosted.
They were looking at lifting the travel ban based on studies but restrictions could be lifted if advisable, within days.
Vaccines are safe and work and are more often the difference between life and death says Dr Fauci.
Of late following the individual solutions in a global village some European nations have been advocating vaccination for children from five years old.
Cuba was, however, the first country to vaccinate kids from two years old in September and since then eleven countries including Israel and Canada have adopted children vaccination.
The USA says vaccinating 5 – 11-year-olds enables them to continue attending school without fear of the virus. Again, we see the rift between the have and have-not.
Zimbabwe has availed the jab to 16-year-olds and as local research intensifies, it is expected that younger children may soon qualify too.
There is a need for review of covid management in relation to travel and business.
Africans are hospitable and never shun a neighbour’s SOS call as our doors are open whether it’s good or bad weather.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe’s Farai Chimba, his Matabeleland North colleague Arnald Musonza and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s Godfrey Koti have expressed joy at the opening up of air travel and look forward to once again hosting foreigners whose governments had barred from “importing” covid to their shores.
Festive gatherings must be a driver for massive vaccination.
As we travel locally and internationally, we must show love to our families by not risking their health through exposure. Let’s value others health over individual rights.
It is traumatic should an elderly relative die of Covid-19 after unvaccinated relatives visit them.
As the world grapples with a giant, individual families can unite at local level and turn communities into buffer zones against Covid-19.
Such communities will in turn once again become the ‘united nations’ that we have always known to fight in one corner.
Online Reporter