The Coronavirus made a bold statement this past week. First came the devastating news that the Prime Minister of the Ivory Coast had become Covid-19’s latest high profile victim and Rwanda recorded its fourth death. Perhaps the loudest statements came from the US, Brazil and Madagascar, countries whose leaders had challenged the virus and even dismissed it. The Malgache president is best remembered for his marketing a Covid-19 “cure” in the form of tea. He even convinced a few of his African peers to import some. Most of those who jumped on the bandwagon are the ones with most serious infections. The Brazilian President was one of the most vocal heads of state who openly challenged the virus a d dismissing it as a “little flu”. He refused to wear a face mask in public and this week the “little flu” had the last laugh. President Bolsonaro is now bedridden. Another person who finally got off the high stool of defiance, President Donald Trump, was for the first time seen wearing a face mask in public. The message has finally reached home. The virus is not a joke; it is here to stay unless we take matters into our own hands. This week Madagascar had the misfortune of losing two lawmakers to the virus just as we were also recording our fourth death. Our figures might not seem alarming and that is not because the odds are in our favour, but because our pandemic response was robust and timely. We can still beat the Coronavirus. But we will need to dig deep into our bag of many tricks and not let our guard down.
