Today we feel we know all there is to know about Covid-19. And so, we take decisions based on this false sense of knowledge. The Church says: people are returning to their daily chores, visiting market places, travelling in public transport etc, hence the Church cannot remain an online community! They must open up to all including the elderly! Even the doctors fighting Covid say the pandemic is slowing! One needs to be cautious. We are entering winter: the season of sore throats, colds, etc. In the West, also entering winter season, people are resorting to flu shots “ something not done here. First, the load on hospitals will increase and secondly some people will believe they have the common cold and come in late to the hospital. What we learnt in the last 6 months cannot be fully extrapolated in the next few months. We also now know that the risk of ‘successful’ transfer of the virus increases with shouting, singing and longer duration of socialising, masks or no masks. As also with improper ventilation. We know the virus affects people differently: some have a slight sniffle, others a cough that disappears in 5 to 10 days: both never realising they contracted the virus. Yet others need hospitalisation, and some lose their lives. So, we are now going to make a collective decision for all? One fits all theory: something the WHO DG warned against. Are we giving due consideration to the rights of the elderly? Are we at least: changing the ventilation, ensuring they wear N95 masks and are correctly taught about the proper use of the same, providing special masses only for the elderly with even more distancing and use of chairs that are not touched in the last 72 hours and no singing? Other than the doctors, no one knows the spine chilling suffering of those who gasp to death. Decision makers must be shown these sad moments.
R Fernandes, Margao
