Dear Editor,
I refer to the article titled, “Over 1500 children contracted COVID-19; four hospitalized” (KN July 3). This certainly came from nowhere, and is a bombshell dropped in the lap. There are few things that shock me in this country, where political people are concerned, but this one does. This is frightening. Questions swirl. Why is this only coming out now? Meaning, that “287 children between the ages of 1-month to four years have contracted the virus?” With the same reported to the public in the highly disturbing results for 523 and 756 children between the ages of five and nine years and 10 to 14 years respectively testing positive? Where were all the high-powered and highflying public relations people and departments? What were they doing, conspiring in concealing, while this time bomb ticked in Guyanese households? How much of this did the Hon. Minister Public Health know and when did he know? I refuse to believe that he only knew yesterday. Since there is no benefit of doubt, why did he and the cabinet, which also had to know, only decided in their collective wisdom to conceal this vital statistic from Guyanese parents and Guyanese in general, with untold individual and familial and communal exposures accompanying such unpardonable irresponsibility?
Editor, I have said often that clean governance and beneficial leadership are not, and should not be, driven by unethical practices, of which blanketing secrecy is a hallmark. To recall the pious, but embarrassingly pathetic, defense of one of the most senior government officials around, it must have been “confidential.” What could be this confidential when the lives of our children are at stake? I do not believe that the Minister of Education would be unaware, out of the information loop, on what I assess as an enormously negative and troubling situation. Yet, she is on record, through some peculiar illogic of pressing forward at express speed for school reopening in September. Though still early July, I think that the only option is to be rid of what is an obviously negligent school of thought. School reopening in September should be scrapped forthwith.
Even if it isn’t, no parent should be predisposed to risk the health, perhaps existence, of their child with what I call for what it is: utter foolishness, now made even more inexplicable by this shocking news development. It is one that cannot be hung on the head of the dreadful PNC. Perhaps, this is why there was this weighing and debating as to how and when to present this startling information to Guyanese. As for Health Minister Anthony, I am angry and extremely disappointed with him. Having looked for developments to hail him, this is damnable, totally owned by him. He had to have objected to the diabolical concealments of his leaders, if only to put the children first. Minister Anthony didn’t. He failed miserably. He hurt us. He possibly exposed us. He did not act promptly or protectively. This is unforgivable. I denounce him. What else on COVID-19 is being hidden?
Sincerely,
GHK Lall