According to projections from experts, there is a possibility of one hundred thousand cases of corona virus being recorded here in the Gambia. This is undoubtedly a huge number which, if it happens, will be a disaster of great magnitude.
The Minister of Health has disclosed that the estimates are that if the corona virus were to spread in the Gambia there will be up to three thousand hospitalisations. Currently, the Government of the Gambia is working to set up to one thousand beds for admissions.
This will leave a shortage of up to two thousand which will be set up as and when the need arises, according to the Minister. This is indeed a huge task and has to be faced collectively if the country is to come out of this pandemic unscathed.
The logistics to admit people with corona virus must be very expensive as the treatment will keep in consideration the avoidance of infecting others while the treatment is ongoing. Each person working in such establishment must take extra precautions to avoid direct contact with the patient.
One can imagine how much effort, resources and energy it will take to have even one hundred patients at any one time talk less of a thousand or more. The Ministry of Health and other government agencies must pull their resources to ensure that the effort is not disjointed but pulled to ensure that it has the impact it is intended to have.
The other side of the fight, which is as important as the one being done medically, is the tackling of the challenges presented by the preventive measures being taken by the government. As there is no cure yet for the corona virus nor is there a vaccine, prevention of its spread in the country is the safest bet for all.
The measures to be taken for the prevention however will bring about stiff economic challenges which, if left untackled, can – and may – set the fight back to zero or thereabouts.
This is why it is equally important to pay attention to it. If people are forced to continue their usual ways of getting a livelihood, it will increase the chances of the spread of the virus which will be disastrous.
