Imagine a wave of COVID-19 infection sweeping through Vanuatu communities: What can we do?

[Up&running Siaraga]

Image: Anadolu Agency

This is Part 2 of the article by Dr. Les Ala, which was published on February 1 this week.

• If you have suspicious symptoms and you are waiting to get tested, you need to self-isolate until your test results are available. This means you need to stay home, avoid contact with family members and look after yourself in your own home.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick during their infected phase when they are isolating. Do not go near them, avoid touching them or touching surfaces where they have been as that is how the virus is spread; through close contact.

• Get vaccinated (and have any booster doses) as recommended by the government. You may read on the internet that the vaccines are not effective. Such information are usually taken out of context and is misleading.

What we are learning is that Covid vaccines will not provide 100% protection against acquiring the infection or transmitting it, especially the new Omicron variant which is highly transmissible, but there is no doubt that vaccination reduces the risk of becoming very seriously ill enough to be hospitalised, or dying from COVID-19. This is the pattern in countries where there are currently very high rates of community transmission but also very high vaccine coverage – the numbers of those being hospitalized and dying from COVID-19 has remained lower than during the previous waves because people have been vaccinated.

• Wear mask / face coverings in public indoor places such in shops, on buses, in offices etc (this is to prevent you from transmitting the virus to others). Masks are generally not necessary in most outdoor settings.

• Keep a minimum of 2 metre distance between you and the next person

• If visiting friends / families, it is better to socialise outdoors than indoors, if possible. Air currents outside scatter and dilute the viral particles and reduce the chances of spreading the virus.

• Whilst indoors, keep as many windows as possible open so air currents can carry the viral particles outside. Good air flow and ventilation indoors is key.

• Avoid large gatherings – if possible, keep a minimum of 2 metres apart at such events. Large gatherings such as Independence ceremonies, funerals, custom ceremonies or family functions should be avoided or the gathering should be limited to a small group only.

• Churches may have to limit the number of people attending services so that a 2-metre distance can be maintained, and masks should be worn inside the church. Or consider holding church services outdoors.

Singing may have to be avoided as it requires air to be ‘forced out’ of the mouth, increasing the risks of saliva droplets to land on others. Broadcasting the church service live via Facebook or other by television will allow the congregation to worship from the safety of their home.

• Special considerations have to be given to schools – we know from current studies that the rates of infection with the Omicron variant in school children is increasing, with an increased risk of community transmission. However, children have to go to school so we need to think of measures which will strike a balance between children continuing with their education whilst reducing the risk of transmission.

Remote learning through providing lessons on-line with direct support from parents and caregivers can be developed and used during community transmission so that learning continues while children stay home. Teachers can produce videos of their lessons and send them through social media for students to access.

• Kava bars, by the nature of how they do business, will become ‘hot spots’ for community transmission of COVID-19.

The sharing of kava shells and the inevitable throat clearing and forceful expulsion of saliva and oropharyngeal secretions will generate droplets teeming with viral particles from a carrier.

There may have to be some government guidelines around how kava bars can remain open for business whilst taking all measures necessary to reduce COVID-19 transmission, but as an individual consumer, you may wish to ‘karem plastic i go long haos’ and have yours in the privacy of your own home. Kava and other goods such as fresh island kaikai may need to be delivered using an online or phone delivery service with a vehicle delivering these services to each home.

A “black market” nakamal operating against MOH advice during a lockdown would destroy all community measures to curb the spread of the virus. Home delivery or “takeaway” is the best option

• Avoid unnecessary travel / movement around the community

• Beware that the virus can be found in saliva and other bodily fluids. It is possible for the virus to be transmitted during intimate kissing.

• Be rigorous in hand-washing, especially when you get home, and minimise hand contact with eyes, nose and mouth

Some of these measures may require emergency legislation to be enacted, particularly around work places, schools, churches and kava bars. Before doing this, the government will do well to seek advice from our local medical experts and public health authorities; with their background knowledge in the culture, attitudes, behaviour and psyche of the Ni-Vanuatu, to ensure that any preventative regulations or guidelines that they come up with are pragmatic and will be adhered to.

Further advice on community preventive guidelines that the government can use to formulate their own protocols should be sought from regional and international organisations (e.g. SPC, WHO) and from the experiences of other Pacific islands governments that are currently grappling with high rates of community transmission, such as the Solomons, Fiji and New Caledonia.

The Directors General of each Ministry should open up channels with their counterparts in those countries including Australia and New Zealand to seek advice, obtain technical information and gain operational insight into how each government department can maintain services in “the new normal”.

Learning from others and adapting their solutions to the Vanuatu context is key for a resource-limited setting like ours.

So, when COVID-19 arrives in Vanuatu, although the government will assume the leadership role in tackling its spread, it is also up to all of us as individuals to play our part in reducing its community transmission, by observing the measures I have summarised above.

The government may bring in regulations and guidelines, some of which may be seen as impinging on our human rights but I would urge all of us to be prepared to adhere to these as much as possible so that businesses can open up and the economy stimulates again. And finally, let us all try to stay safe.