Maximise The Opportunity !

Knowledge, they say, is power and Cameroonians now have what it takes to either control themselves against the ravaging covid-19 pandemic or speedily engage in treatment to pre-empt the worse. In effect, citizens have been served with a golden opportunity to know their status vis-à-vis the prevailing coronavirus pandemic.

The screening centres that government has multiplied in the country decentralises the testing operation; thus offering the population the chance to know whether or not they have been hit by the pandemic. Coming against a backdrop of hitherto fear of the unknown that enveloped the population, the government’s decision to step up the number of testing centres is arguably a stitch in time. Understandably so as anyone who knows his/her status stands a better chance of proper protection either against contamination or careless death. He/she who is declared positive is advised to go into solitude and start immediate treatment so as to save himself and others. Meanwhile, those declared yet free are instructed to intensify the respect of barrier measures which are increasingly becoming part and parcel of the population’s daily life.

One formidable thing about these new testing centres is their ability to deliver in the shortest possible time. Some of them have rapid testing kits which allow results to be available in less than a quarter of an hour. Little wonder reports speak of seas of Cameroonians flowing into the centres to get themselves tested against the disturbing pandemic. The massive and voluntary testing options given the population through these decentralised centres also offer them the chance to take off stress that comes with not knowing one’s status.

When one bears in mind medical reports that there are many unsuspecting patients (asymptomatic cases) who have the propensity to spread the disease, the current dispensation can only be laudable. More so as the centres’ proximity with the population gives them the ease to get themselves screened without much difficulty. ...