Great opportunities for TT from pandemic

THE EDITOR: This pandemic presents a wonderful opportunity to improve the physical, mental, economic, social, cultural and spiritual health of our society.

Economic: diversification of the economy by providing incentives and facilitating the creation of new businesses, manufacturers, service providers, exporters.

Physical: improvement of physical health by utilising the natural resources such as beaches, parks, state lands. Using the people on the government payroll to conduct non-contact activities such as physical education, outdoor school classes, swimming, aqua jogging, aqua therapy, surfing, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, kitesurfing, cycling, snorkeling, paddle boarding, forest walking/bathing, bird watching, fruit/forest tree planting, agricultural lessons.

These are all non-contact, immunity-boosting, healthy activities to control and reduce the ever increasing noncommunicable and communicable diseases. No liming, alcohol drinking, loud noise/music.

Mental: the vast majority of hospital admissions are directly or indirectly related to alcohol consumption. Banning the sale of alcohol provides a fantastic opportunity to rid our economy of the largest healthcare burden.

Instead, the alcohol can be used to manufacture hand sanitisers, lotions, cleaners, wipes, preservatives – for local consumption and export. The activities mentioned above will also significantly improve mental health.

Social/cultural: the pandemic provides the wonderful opportunity to instil positive, wholesome, healthy, constructive thoughts, behaviours and habits in the population while ridding it of the scourge of destructiveness.

Enforce the laws against profanity, ban the promotion of alcoholic drinks just as was done for smoking. Ban songs and activities promoting and glamourising sexual promiscuity and sexually transmitted infections, including covid19. Encourage songs promoting healthy lifestyles, not destructiveness. Abandon Carnival and fetes as they are anti-physical distancing and spread diseases.

Challenge and give incentives to the creative artists and other stakeholders to promote productive cultural diversification teaching art, producing clothing, masks and accessories that help fight the spread of diseases.

Surely they can use their knowledge and creative skills in the design and manufacture of paddle boards, kites, sporting equipment and clothing.

Spiritual health: doing the above will give our population a renewed appreciation for the blessings God has given us. The awareness and care for our environment, natural resources and recognition that we are all one human race under God will no doubt improve.

An evaluation of the current situation would reveal the daily rise of covid19 infections, the health costs, morbidity and death toll. Are the current measures working? What are the options?

DR FITZROY ARMOUR

Tobago