News have emerged that authorities have begun a manhunt for 18 Gambian students, who recently escaped quarantine after arriving in the country from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via Senegal. Under normal circumstance they should undergo quarantine as expected of all returnees amid the surge in the number of coronavirus cases.
These students arrived from a country, which has already registered 294,519 cases of covid-19 with over 3303 deaths. How certain are we that all the 18 students are free from this virus?
The risks posed by these returnees far out-weigh their individual cum selfish interest.
Government shouldn’t hesitate to slam these returnees for breach of Covid-19 quarantine regulations. Until then, similar incidents would continue to unfold thus endangering the lives of millions of Gambians. Everyone has to play by the rules. These people knew the rule and by choosing to break it, they should therefore face the consequences. Since the outbreak of the virus, all returnees need to be considered at risk of carrying Covid-19.
Internationally this pandemic is rising, thus the need for concerted efforts by all to combat its further spread.
The recent surge in the number of confirmed cases in the country is alarming. It is therefore, incumbent on the families of these returning students to report to the nearest health facility if by chance they come into contact with these students.
We salute our health experts and all frontline workers for risking their lives to ensure that the country contains this deadly virus. However, we only hope and pray that they quickly apprehend these escaped students before the unfortunate happens.
This is incredibly irresponsible behaviour by them. The country’s only chance of stopping community transmission of Covid-19 is by containing all potential cases at the border. And this can only be successful if returnees undergo normal quarantine tests.
"I think it's very healthy to spend time alone. you need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person."
Oscar Wilde