New Covid-19 Outbreak in Havana
Por Esther Zoza
HAVANA TIMES – Social indiscipline has given rise to new COVID-19 cases in Havana. This to such an extent that the capital is once again stuck in the community transmission phase. Some citizens’ resist wearing a mask or wear them incorrectly. Many young people’s lack of foresight, awareness and responsibility, desperate to meet up with friends and party, have shot up infection numbers. The result: a new outbreak of the disease and great uncertainty among the population.
It’s hard to understand how such a self-sacrificing people like the Cubans, have people who ignore their civic duty. Many ask what makes people unaware of the gravity of the situation at hand. Is it a challenge, ignorance, improper reasoning of the message or psychological problems? Could it be a lack of empathy or a new form of subconscious communication?
It’s essential to realize the context young people and adults grow up in. It helps us to understand how they haven’t got the message. Something not only putting these people’s lives in danger, but the lives of the rest of the population. What is happening in every family and social environment is a starting point for analyzing this phenomenon.
Looking for reasons
Some people believe the excessive texting and use of Facebook among the youth warps their understanding of traditional communication channels. Other people have coined the term “God complex”. The reality is that these people think they are invincible, protected by a divine halo that makes them immune. Convinced their behavior won’t change what happens with the pandemic, they put the lives of entire communities at risk.
I have run into some young people on the street and buses, and their lack of concern and indifference terrifies me. There’s no doubt that they pose a risk.
Personal survival is at the top of our agenda today. More so when looking after ourselves means that we are also looking after others. However, looking after others is a lesson we learn as children and in the heart of the family. I strongly believe that after this pandemic, a lot will have to be rewritten. Especially in how families educate their children, when the future of our planet is on the line.
I truly apologize for the non-indigenous people who are responsible for the spread of this VIRUS in and out of country after country being infected with just the wave of a hand? The test seems to be who will follow set guidelines in order to survive and who will go against the authorities in order to feel control of there DESTINY! What the WORLD fails to REALIZE they had already factored people would rebel and so the VIRUS has been directed into just certain populations because its was already known these certain cultures would resist the ANGLOS information and the virus is sure to Spread because of those who resist wearing gloves, MASK and using 6 foot distancing! The ARROGANANCE of the youth will be the silent killer to that generation!
It’s frustrating that Cuba actually did fairly well in the beginning only to see that the people in La Havana failed to maintain self-discipline just for a while longer… or maybe the younger generations were just tired of making all these “sacrifices” for their parents and grandparents’ generations??
You say Nick, that “in Cuba we tend to see people being relatively sensible.”
My wife in our daily conversations, decries those guilty of “estupidez” in Havana, which is now in a real and enforced lockdown.
But I tend to agree with you when comparing Cuba with the US or dare I say it, the UK. One has also to recognize the advantage of a totalitarian state, being able to enforce lockdowns.
Esther Zoza is making a plea for the application of common sense – which unfortunately is not pursued by all.
One other comment. Ms. Zoza refers to “excessive texting” reflecting the usage in today’s world of electronic communication. Historians have traditionally made use of letters of correspondence kept sometimes for centuries, bundles of letters stored in memory of loved ones, written records of events, some in beautiful script, others scrawled, but providing information upon a wide spectrum of their time. Written correspondence is now relatively rare, and who keeps records of current everyday events recorded electronically? Where will future historians delve?
Perhaps Cuba is actually fortunate in that the populous are generally understanding of the dangers and of the government’s point of view regarding Covid.
In other countries there have been protests against lockdowns, mask wearing and suchlike. In some countries there is even the weird and very sad spectacle of presidents actually encouraging such protests.
So in Cuba we tend to see people being relatively sensible.
Perhaps Cuban people are more familiar with a certain amount of common danger or threat – hurricanes, economic hardship, external threat etc.
But wherever you go there are always going to be some people who are reckless or perceive themselves to be immune, or too young to die, or who place their trust in fate or in God or who simply refute the advice of Government or Medical experts.