By Dennis Rounds
Faced with a second COVID-19 lockdown, just 12 months after the first, I’ve convinced myself that I now have a better understanding of the term “Western Front”.
During the First World War, a large slice of Europe was designated the Western Front. The term referred to what was, essentially, the main “theatre of war”.
In the latter half of April, Fiji’s health authorities “locked down” the pre-COVID booming tourism town, Nadi, and the sugar-producing city of Lautoka.
Those of us living in the two municipalities were faced with closure of non-essential businesses, limited public transportation and repeated calls to “stay home”, practice “social distancing”, wear face masks and sanitise.
The official explanation from the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, for what amounted to a “theatre of isolation” for most of us, was that a funeral held in Lautoka had become a “super spreader” of the virus.
Apparently, a woman working at a government-designated and controlled quarantine centre had made contact with a soldier who had contracted the virus.
She then attended a funeral, together with more than 500 people and the virus was thus passed on with Suva attendees at the funeral inadvertently carrying the virus back to the capital.
Through daily media briefings Fijians learned that the virus had also spread to the Lami, Suva and Nasinu areas. In one case, in the Suva-Nasinu corridor, a soldier returning from the quarantine centre had passed the virus on to his wife.
Suva and its surroundings were also “locked down”.
Dr Fong later confirmed at one of the daily briefings that the virus that was now in the public/community domain was a variant first detected in India and known as the B1617 strain.
With all the talk focusing on locking down and containing the virus, I couldn’t help but lament the lost opportunity to heighten the seriousness of the deadly situation in Fiji.
According to Indian scientists, the B1617 variant is a COVID virus with two mutations – E484Q and L452R.
As a double mutation variant, it is thought to be the reason for India’s deadly new wave of cases.
Towards the end of April, India had recorded more than 14 million COVID cases with more than 175,000 related deaths.
Health experts fear that the B1617 variant is more virulent and that the mutations could increase transmission and reduce neutralisation. They worry that the mutations could possibly stunt the ability of vaccines to curb them.
Scientists tell us that, as part of evolutionary biology, viruses mutate all the time and that some mutations weaken the virus while others may make it stronger, resulting in more infections.
This, my journalism instincts reminded me, was the message- as scary as it is – that needed to be driven home to the Fijian public.
The B1617 variant is deadly. Sadly, Fijians didn’t get that message until the end of April.
As with “Western Fronts”, lock-downs, curfews and self-isolation become unbearable. It’s how we come through the ordeal, unscathed, that give credence to the precautions we take.
In Lautoka, we have learned quickly to take precautions based on advice which normally comes from Dr Fong.
Unfortunately, for our fellow Fijians in Suva, Lami and Nausori the method of communicating precautions has, in recent times, become blurred.
People there had to wait several hours to hear Dr Fong confirm what was, already widespread “coconut wireless” news – that there was to be a 56-hour lockdown because of an increasing number of COVID cases on their “front”.
Many were caught out, with low food supplies.
Not long afterwards the good doctor, who has been the “main character” updating the nation, was again “up-staged”. Someone had apparently “leaked” information that the Suva/Nausori and Lami areas were to go into an even longer “lock-down”. So, Dr Fong’s confirmation, hours later, came as no big surprise.
Back here, in our “burning west”, I couldn’t help myself and succumbed to the trend of “conspiracy theories” which seem to have “mushroomed” all over the world.
I wondered if someone was trying to steal Dr Fong’s “thunder”.
