“Touch me Not”

Stephen Mpofu, Perspective
In previous years Christians and non-Christians in Zimbabwe – and, indeed those in other nations – celebrated the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, with much abandon.

But not so this festive season around with the coronavirus rampaging across the globe and littering graves behind it, so that the golden rule, “touch me not”, as understood between in laws must inform social distantiation between Zimbabweans and diasporan come-home relatives some of whom might be super spreaders of the covid virus prancing from their rural homes to urban centres to proudly show off to friends and relatives there their superior, diasporan financial status and in the process spraying the coronavirus before returning to their foreign bases.

With flood levels low in river border boundaries between Zimbabwe and other countries in Southern Africa, a report by the police a few days ago to the effect that security forces had accounted for 500 Zimbabwean returnees thumbing their nose at the official Beitbridge border post and stealing their way back home across the Limpopo might be just a tip of an avalanche of carriers of Covid- 19 or its more deadly variant, Omicron, and thus presenting the Government and health authorities in this country with a more gargantuan task of curbing the killer virus.

Which calls for intensification of patrols across our borders by Zimbabwean security forces and their counterparts from neighbouring states where large numbers of our people are known to live and work.

At the same time awareness campaigns must be stepped up particularly in rural areas for people to adhere to World Health Organisation protocols as implemented here at home by health authorities at our Government’s behest namely social distancing, washing hands thoroughly, sanitising, wearing of masks and avoiding large gatherings.

It does not matter how close a relative a diasporan is as one might turn out to be a super spreader of the virus so that the protocols must be observed with the strictness they deserve.

Since some villagers in more remote areas of our country lack the kind of information saturation about Covid-19 as that enjoyed by their urban counterparts through electronic media and newspapers, it behoves on traditional leaders presiding in those areas to be adequately educated about the dangers of Covid-19 and other dangerous viruses so that they may in turn take the necessary measures to protect the people over whom they preside against threats to their lives, in the same way that the traditional leaders should help spearhead developmental projects in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

Of particular importance rural dwellers should have the same easy access to health services as that enjoyed by urban dwellers if any victory against the pandemic and allied diseases is to be won before more lives are lost.

This, of course, suggests that every Zimbabwean, old and young who avoids vaccination should be made to realise how detrimental their action is to their wellbeing by being denied services – or other privileges enjoyed by those who fulfil WHO protocols against the killer virus as enforced by our Government.

The new year should ideally see Zimbabwean school children and infants in particular, as future leaders of this country, enjoying safeguards against Covid-19 which appears intent, if let lose, on annihilating present and future generations in our country as everywhere else, as if a prelude to the annihilation of the human race.

As things stand right now Covid-19 and its unpredictable variants pause a real threat to any and all national developmental initiatives by our Government and with that people’s livelihoods as well – a strong case for Zimbabweans, regardless of their political persuasions and the Government to forge a strong front against the satanic variants as a safeguard to human lives.