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COVID-19: Time to honour all frontliners

By Johannes Marisa 2020 was a miserable year for the entire world with some of the most developed countries being hit heavily by the deadly coronavirus. It is sad that as of today, at least 78 million people have been infected while deaths are more than 1,7 million people. Those who lost their lives never thought that one day, there was going to be COVID-19 that would threaten the whole world. The political, economic and social environments were grossly affected resulting in misery for many. Special mention should have been given to front-liners who stood tall when the virus was threatening to tear the world apart. By December 1, 2020, about 9 000 health workers had died of COVID-19 in the world with more than 290 000 health workers infected by the virus. This is really sad. Health workers played a critical role worldwide to the extent that in countries like Italy, statues were erected in their honour. The security officers played their part as they enforced regulations which to a greater extent protected us to this day. South Africa has reported a variant strain of the coronavirus, 501.V2, which carries a higher viral load and is more aggressive and prevalent among the young. The world is in trouble indeed. Governments introduced measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus and these included quarantine, lockdowns, social distancing and wearing of masks. Our government introduced a lockdown in March 2020 after the death of the first case. Some segments of the population seem to be more prone to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic symptoms because of their health conditions. Quarantine is usually hated by many who see it as an impediment to uniting with loved ones. There is for sure loss of freedom, uncertainty about the advancement of the COVID-19 and the general feeling of helplessness. Lockdown came and saw a lot of businesses being closed except for critical services which were allowed to function. Zimbabwe has many people in the informal sector, mainly vendors. The unemployment rate in this country is over 70% hence sources of income dwindled for many people who struggled to raise money for rentals, school fees, bus fare, food et cetera. This culminated in people experiencing anxiety and depression as the coronavirus continued to ravage the entire world. Stress, anxiety and depression have been some of the most notable health problems among people in 2020. Stress is a physical, mental or emotional condition that causes bodily or mental tension. Many have developed post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the departure of their loved ones, suffering from COVID-19. Many health professionals overworked themselves as between March and July 2020, there was anxiety about COVID-19 and in Zimbabwe nurses went on strike for six months, demanding personal protective equipment and better working conditions. Health professionals, especially in low-resource countries are at risk of secondary traumatic stress disorder which can arise when drugs are not available for all patients and the professional must chose who

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