Presentation of information vital

Editorial

NATIONAL Capital District residents were told to present themselves for testing if they developed any Covid-19 symptoms, even if mild.
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, headache, chills, runny nose, shortness of breath and muscle ache.
Controller and Police Commissioner David Manning explained that getting tested would help authorities find any cases in the community as quickly as possible and to manage the pandemic.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic provoked social stigma and discriminatory behaviours, especially targeted at health workers and emergency responders, persons known to have been sick with the virus (even if they have recovered), people who undergo quarantine and anyone perceived to have been in contact with the virus such as travellers.
Many people are also scared of getting tested because it has not been explained well to them.
What happens after samples are taken from someone? Where do you go after that? When do you get the results? And then what? What it means to be a person of interest (POI)? As a POI, what do you do? What does incubation mean and how long is the incubation period?
All information should be tailored to the specific situation which can then increase the efficiency of information dissemination and provide people with more time and accurate information to be informed and make better decisions.
If all is written in simple English and visually presented well, people will understand and come forward to be tested.
Use simple language and avoid technical terms.
The majority of our people do not have much education and are gullible to whatever information is spread and that is how panic starts.
Creating fear and stigma is the not the best option to dealing with the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Stigma can undermine social solidity and prompt possible social isolation of groups, which might contribute to a situation where the virus is more, not less, likely to spread.
This can result in more health problems and difficulties controlling further outbreaks.
Stigma can drive people to hide the illness to avoid discrimination; prevent people from seeking health care immediately; and discourage them from adopting healthy behaviours
In an outbreak, people are often labelled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated separately, and/or experience loss of status because of a perceived link with a disease.
Let’s share facts and accurate information about the coronavirus.
The way we communicate affects the attitude of others.
In an age where information is mass produced and accessible at the touch of a button, what the public really should have is relevant knowledge.
It is important for everyone to get the facts from trusted sources.
Right now, there is still a lot of confusion.
Maybe, it is time leaders and those in authority come out publicly to show they are observing isolation/quarantine requirements by allowing the media to report about them.
Allow the media to report on what is happening inside isolation centres such as the Rita Flynn Courts.
If one becomes a person of interest, let the media report about them, if they are supposed to be in isolation because they have come into contact someone who tested positive to the coronavirus, let the media report.
Let the public see and witness what is happening.
Otherwise, the public will hold on the perception that there are two rules, one for ordinary citizens and one for the well-to-do citizens or leaders.
As the saying goes, “seeing is believing” and perception is different through everyone’s mind.

One thought on “Presentation of information vital

  • I strongly agree with this editorial post. Information from a layman’s view should be made available so people do not fear this virus.

Comments are closed.