Dear Editor,
It goes without saying that every single precaution must be taken to mitigate the effects of the COVID virus. It is therefore absolutely unbelievable that a quarantine centre is right now being established in the middle of a residential area in Lethem. To the east and west of that lot are residences and, incredibly, sharing its southern boundary and separated only by a chain-link fence is the Arapaima Primary School!
Residents in the area were neither consulted nor notified. It is obvious, too, that no research was done before deciding on this location. Had any research been done, they would have noted that strenuous objections to putting quarantine centres in residential areas were made in Hong Kong, India, Syria, South Korea, Bulawayo (the MP there asked, “How on earth can we have a quarantine centre at a residential area?”). Nor did they obviously not check recommendations made by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
I totally object to the present location partly because I live just two lots away and because I am considered a particularly high risk case. I find it absolutely unacceptable, too, that the head of the household immediately east of the centre this week had to move his family of six to another location because of his own concerns.
The new Minister of Health has just condemned the design of the Liliendaal COVID centre. I ask him to urgently enquire into the location of the Lethem centre.
Yours faithfully,
Clairmont Lye
