Halifa Warns COVID-19 Could Have Devastating Effects

By Omar Bah

The Secretary General of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism has issued a strong warning that the Covid-19 pandemic could cause devastating effects unless people begin to take the virus seriously.
“If we neglect Covid-19, we risk facing devastation because Covid-19 will continue to grow and by its growth, will continue to cause death,” Halifa Sallah told journalists yesterday at a news conference.

The National Assembly member for Serekunda argued that the moment the first case was registered, the country should have been galvanised to unite as one to fight the war.
“But a nation divided is a nation that is weak and a nation that is weak is a nation that is defeated. What we should do now is take stock of what we did right and wrong in order to assess how to do things right because failure to do things right is suicidal,” he said.

He continued: “Times such as this do require change of mindsets. This is the time to take stock to know exactly what our responsibilities should be…Trying times require immense maturity guided by conscience. Common sense dictates that we cannot proceed to address any phenomenon unless we understand its nature and characteristics. We must know what Covid-19 embodies before we can address the challenges it poses.

“When we were told that a staff member of MRC-Gambia has actually been infected by the illness, that should have been the teacher because if a medical practitioner working for a reputable medical laboratory where diseases of all sorts are actually researched in order to prepare a greater understanding of their nature and characteristics, all of us should have been alarmed,” he noted.