Around the World, the Coronavirus Onslaught Continues.
The peril hangs over every country, every society.
Today a country appears to have controlled the virus. Tomorrow it is being overwhelmed. Today a country is cited as a success story, soon after cases go up.
Last year in the early beginnings of the Coronavirus pandemic I wrote this opinion article for Wall Street International Magazine on line titled The pandemic world, A Change To Be Better.
Related article: The pandemic world
I wrote this: "I have read the bloggers who say that the silver lining in COVID-19 is that we are realizing that we are all part of one human family. If you are writing from New York or Los Angeles, and you have time right now to blog, then you are not cooped up in a small apartment with three children and a husband who just lost his job. The more likely scenario is that you are pondering our interconnectedness from a home worth more than a million dollars. If we are a human family, you are the rich relations. You probably rarely speak of, much less to, the homeless cousin in Los Angeles, the brown ones, Asians and Latinos. Writing from my home at the edge of the world, in one of the poorest countries in Asia, I understand. It makes you uncomfortable. He or she might ask you for money. With exceptions, nations are not so different."
From India the pandemic quickly spread into Nepal, the Himalayan roof top of the world was the first country bordering India to be quickly overwhelmed and gained the unwanted status of being the worst plagued country in the world on a per capita basis, a status held first by India. But other South Asian and Southeast Asian countries are equally being overwhelmed by the Indian variant. In a matter of weeks, Malaysia which was managing the pandemic with much praise seems to have moved ahead of Nepal as the worst affected country as per population.
Over 63% of US adult citizens have received one dose of a vaccine and 53% are fully vaccinated resulting in a fantastic 80% drop in new Covid positives since April. A truly remarkable achievement, credit due to President Biden who almost single mindedly focussed on stoping the Covid-19 in its track.
And how about the rest of us, the rest of humanity? The figures reveal about the true state of affairs of our humanity. There's a great sound bite, "We are One Family", which was supposed to inspire and mobilize all, rich and poor, in the common fight against this deadly pandemic. Yes we are one family tracing our roots to the Nerthenthal man but we are less equal than a today's family of Apes, with less community solidarity.
Some super rich Indians sought sanctuary in the Maldives flying out in their private jets. But Maldives soon succumbed to the virus. Super rich Americans built bunkers in the Caribbean. Others fled to Dubai.
In the meantime poor Indians and Nepalese were dying by the thousands everyday, and poor black Americans saw disproportionate numbers of deaths.
Of the estimated 2 billion doses globally administered so far a miserable 0.3% were given to some of the poorest countries in the world, a vastly larger legion of fellow human beings than Americans and Europeans put together.
Between the U.S and Europeans they hogged 85% of the available vaccines. But do I condemn them? Do I call them selfish? No. American and European leaders have to look after their citizens first. That's a fact of life, it is their responsibility towards their own people.
Presiden Biden, to remedy this UnCristian and UnMuslim disparity, announced plans to donate 25 million doses to countries around the world by the end of this month. This is far too little for the magnitude of the pandemic engulfing countries in Latin America, Sub Sahara Africa and Asia. But it is only the start. It is expected that 60 million more doses will follow.
A global mechanism, COVAX, created by WHO to coordinate and to procure vaccines has suffered delays because the Indian supply chain has been impacted by the hellish India's pandemic. And Indian leaders did not hesitate, they stopped all contracts, including COVAX contracts, to care for their own people first. Damn others. Do I condemn them? No. It is human, they don't have even enough for their own people.
COVAX President, a former President of the European Commission Jose Durão Barroso, with whom i have been frequently in touch in the last few days, recently announced that a total of $10 Billiion have been donated by multiple countries, including the US, EU, South Korea, Japan, China, Australia Canada, New Zealand, etc. Heartfelt gratitude goes to all COVAX donors.
As a deeply concerned citizen, without any mandate from our Government, I have actively searched for suppliers outside the existing COVAX mechanism and our generous bi-lateral partners. I have secured two significant supplies of AstraZeneca and SPUTNIK far beyond the needs of our population.
I have briefed the Prime Minister, the Coordinating Minister of the Council of Minister and the Minister of Health. They are determined to secure enough supply of the best possible vaccines with a high degree of protection and less risk of serious and fatal side effects.
We can pay for it. We have a Sovereign Fund of over $18 billion. And vaccines are the only effective instruments in our defense arsenal to save our people from a potential Tsunami of Covid variants and mutations that are appearing wide and far.
Experts in many countries are warning that as the coronavirus moves fast and far it will also mutate and might render unworthy existing vaccines.
Even countries that have been lauded as models of containment of Covid throughout 2020 - Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc - are seeing extremely worrying spikes.
Timor-Leste was literally Covid-free in 2020 without a single fatality, no community transmission and no agravated hospitalization. Use of ventilator was not required anytime in 2020. But suddenly as we began the New Year the number of positives went through the roof. However, so far we are fortunate, very fortunate, we have not seen a dramatic increase in direct Cause-Effect Covid deaths. But this can change. As experience has shown when the first mutations make their entry, it will be ugly, terrifying.
So our Govt should not hesitate. Pay for the vaccines that are available and vaccinate everyone fast, faster, fastest. The fight is not over untill it is over.
But the Govt must also move aggressively in support of our private sector, simplify procedures, use emergency powers to make payments, provide financial incentives, pay Govt debts, capitalize BNCTL to lend to the productive sector at 1% interest. Yes at 1%.
It is immoral and irresponsible on the part of commercial banks and BNCTL to charge 12% and above. Borrowers are simply not able to pay. Domestic violence increases amidst the extreme recession. Suicide has been registered. On whose conscience, Mr. Banks?
Micro Credit groups like Moris Rasik should be held to account over the outrageously high interest rate they too continue to collect from their desperate clients.
Our economy is not moribund. It is dead. The Govt can make miracles, resuscitate the dead.
José Ramos-Horta is an East Timorese politician who was the President of East Timor from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2006 and Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize.
