“Keep your droplets to yourself”
The Executive Director of the National Population Council, Dr Leticia Adelaide Appiah, has explained that social or distancing is the key to fighting and preventing the coronavirus.
She said social distancing meant "Keep your droplets to yourself".
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In an interview in Accra to find out how the populace could fight the virus effectively, Dr Appiah said "keeping the distance means that if you have the virus, fight on our behalf by staying away from us and if you don't have it, keep away from it".
She said since the virus was new, "we have no immunity individually and collectively and because there is no vaccine yet, the battle against COVID-19 depends mainly on our immunity and that should be the focus".
Dr Appiah explained that when "we get vaccinated with polio, for instance, we all develop immunity against it so when we get the infection, we don't fall sick. When all are immunised, the community develops immunity called herd immunity, which protects all of us", she said.
She added: "In COVID 19, because we have not been vaccinated, our immune response to the virus depends only on our immune system which does not know the virus."
She stated that "we should expect that in Africa, a higher incidence of severe forms of COVID- 19 will occur in younger patients because of the demographics and associated endemic conditions that affect the immune system".
She mentioned malnutrition, anaemia, malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis as some of the conditions which are likely to increase the severity of the coronavirus.
She said with such conditions in addition to fragile health care systems, "Africa may not see the situation where "most people who get it will be fine except with those who have individual immunity".
She therefore advised that we eat a balanced and nutritious diet and focus on social distancing.
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