The importance of unity and common purpose in the fight against Covid-19
It has been reported today, Monday, the Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare has once again urged all the citizens of the Solomon Islands to “keep fighting with all mean despite the country still remaining free of Covid-19.
The Prime Minister said there was no place for complacency and that all must strive and take all precautionary measures.
Solomon Islands has locked its borders and is currently in a State of Emergency. Tough penalties have been put in place for those that breach regulations imposed by government.
It is fair to say the government has been consistent in announcing and applying the measurers considered necessary to protect the country and the citizens from coronavirus.
To have done less and brought in incremental measures that could have given rise to a perceived weakness in the government’s authority to deal with the Covid-19 crisis might have crested widespread panic brought on by fear.
I see the government having to deal with the biggest crisis since the ‘Tensions’ and combating Covid-19 requires something extraordinary in today’s Solomon Islands – unity of purpose and understanding. This stretches from compliance with the need for social distancing, hygiene practices such as frequent hand washing and with the broader policies that the government has found it necessary to introduce by way of the Declaration of Public Emergency.
Fundamentally, because of the threat of coronavirus, society must change ways and habits to avoid the worst case scenario.
Most difficult of all is that unity of purpose intrinsically runs against the societal norms, and one example would be how social distancing has never before been necessary or practiced locally, but now there must be common purpose where everybody clearly understands why the stringent measures imposed by the government are necessary and what actions must be taken to avoid the fate already seen in other countries where coronavirus has gained a foothold.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
