Dakar has once again become Dakar. The beaches are filled to the brim. The sports course is always full. Protective masks are less and less worn or, like the scarf of some women, only provide the symbolism, they are brought down to the level of the chin.
In many Dakar residents, the mask no longer protects the mouth and nose. Large groups, with no antelopes, reappear in homes and in public spaces: weddings, baptisms, burials, condolences, etc.
Soon, the xew and the xawaare, if we are not careful, will invite themselves into this dramatic tohubohu, into this tragic exuberance of collective and individual unconsciousness under the benevolent gaze of the authorities.
Are we shaped to be insensitive to all misfortunes, to watch the big grim reaper dressed in the clothes of the covid, impassive, to seize bodies until enslaving the spirits? And we continue, tirelessly, to reproduce our usual daily traintrain with disastrous consequences in the current situation.
A single death, which can be avoided, should be a tragedy and mobilize all the authorities and the population to prevent its recurrence.
In May, we had an average of one (1) death related to covid19 per day, in the first half of June this average was a little more than one death per day and the last fortnight of the month of June, a first jump is made: an average of more than three (3) deaths per day.
However, the mortality rate is 1.59%, it is below the mortality rate in Africa and in the World. The number of patients followed, the number of serious cases, the number, impossible to estimate, of patients who stay at home without being consulted, could lead to a new quantitative jump in the number of deaths per day.
Let’s take a look at what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The situation continues to burn in the United States of America, Mexico, Brazil, etc. Hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of covid19, others unfortunately will still die.
We don’t have to panic, but we have to be reasonably worried. We are at the limit of a bifurcation which is controlled, on the one hand, by the ratio between the number of active patients of covid19 and the number of available beds and, on the other hand, the number of severe cases and the number of beds available in intensive care.
Any deficit in one or the other case will be a factor of acceleration of the transition from the state of active patient to the state of severe case or else from the state of severe case to death. The number of ordinary beds as the number of beds in intensive care is not infinitely expandable even if it is still necessary to make an additional effort in beds of intensive care.
Without this effort, it will very soon, if not already, be up to the doctors to choose the serious cases to be admitted to intensive care and the serious cases to be allowed to die without respiratory assistance.
Before it is too late, we must act on the levers which make it possible to reverse this situation. Only active prevention, on all levels, individual, collective, administrative, security, religious, cultural, political, can still prevent us from inevitably going into the wall.
The authorities, each at their own level, are primarily responsible, they should not be voiceless, lax, cautious of even coercive measures that can save lives, prevent the spread of the disease and they should set an example when they must manage deaths and other family events. It is not possible to blame the populations for certain excesses if the authorities themselves do the same.
This period is suitable for everyone to make their own self-criticism and radically change the way they exercise the authority entrusted to them. Is it not possible to impose a tax on anyone who does not wear a mask, who organizes or who participates in a rally. Is it not possible to set up voluntary screening centers for covid19 at different points in Dakar?
This would make it possible to increase the number of daily tests, to have a better knowledge of the prevalence of the disease and above all to detect positive cases early and to be able to follow them very early. If this experience proves positive, it could be replicated in other municipalities and cities.
These proximity screening centers will also relieve the reluctance of many people to report themselves when they notice symptoms of covid19. They could thus help reduce the stigma linked to covid19.
Combine this with active, aggressive communication aimed at protecting the vulnerable:
– people over fifty five;
– and / or people with diabetes, hypertension, asthma, respiratory failure, overweight, etc.
Shouldn’t we take advantage of the opening of exam classes to give students training from thirty (30) minutes to one (1) hour on the covid19. Such training will have an impact on the family of the trainee.
Each of us must help our country by applying individual and collective barrier measures:
– always wear the mask outside the house,
– wash your hands regularly with ordinary soap,
– keep a distance of at least one meter from your contact,
– not to participate in rallies,
– do not travel if it is not imperative,
– reduce courtesy visits,
– etc.
We are on the brink of a risk of the Covid19 slipping, that each Senegalese and each Senegalese consider themselves personally responsible, and apply their share of prevention. That the authorities fully assume their role and dare to take the measures imposed by the gravity of the situation.
Mary Teuw Niane
June 28, 2020
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