"This editorial was written before the announcement of the three cases of coronavirus in Mauritius"

I don’t know how many businesses and individuals have been reassured by the prime minister’s assurances that “there is no coronavirus in Mauritius and we are doing everything we can to contain it when it comes.” If the answer is “not many”, there are several reasons for that.

First, at a time of an unprecedented calamity the intensity and duration of which the world knows little about, many of our MPs sitting in parliament seem to show little interest in anything other than singing the praises of their leader and his godly abilities, to the point – as someone pointed out – that God might feel jealous. 

Secondly, it is clear now that the country has been run with irresponsibility. The audit report clearly states that we are living on loads of borrowed money and that “Borrowings ranked second as a source of Government revenue!” So we are in a situation of “Making music, were you? Very well; now dance!”

Unfortunately, the dancing continues unabated: instead of trying to introduce some measures to slow down the assault on our public finances in this time of crisis, the only measure has been a call on ministries to reduce their expenditure by 10%! And the state of our public purse is instead being aggravated by even more nominations of Dulthumun and his likes as well as candidates that the population has rejected and those who were not seen to be fit enough to be fielded. 

“Many of those who are involved in the health sector are terribly concerned about the false sense of security that the whole population is being lulled into.”

Thirdly, at a time when countries are pulling all their resources together to fight Covid-19 as one, over here, the government is favouring its own cronies and sidelining 2/3 of the population and entire communities, who could help with their expertise and experience. Arrogance wins the day over public health and over the economy of the country.

The fourth and most alarming reason is that many of those who are involved in the health sector are terribly concerned about the false sense of security that the whole population is being lulled into. This is contributing to wasting precious time to set up processes to cope with the situation. Burying one’s head in the sand and taxing anyone who dares question the established narrative as anti-patriotic is one thing. Giving facts is another: What type of testing procedures are being used? I understand from my friends in the profession that the only approved test for the coronavirus is real time PCR of secretions from the nose and throat. How many test kits are available? How many people have been tested so far, particularly among those diagnosed with bronchitis or chest infection? Also, where are the extra doctors, nurses, cleaners, health professionals to cater to the extra demand? If some hospitals are going to be requisitioned for those suffering from Covid-19, where will the other patients go? Answering questions like these would reassure the population more than any spin!

There is no point behaving like ostriches and bragging about statistics surrounding the virus. As French President Emmanuel Macron said, “We are not fighting an army or a nation but the enemy is here, invisible, elusive.” Those countries which have put in place the means to look for it have found it and are monitoring it. 

It is not the disease that kills. It is amateurism, selfishness, partisanship and arrogance. Each one of these is lethal. Do the math. 

This editorial was submitted before the announcement of the coronavirus cases.

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