We have been living under the state of uncertainty and fear due to the COVID-19 outbreak for the past two years, especially at the start of the pandemic, when all everyone wanted to talk about was the virus, what the available treatments were, how deadly COVID-19 was, and whether the measures were stringent enough to keep the death toll low.
As a citizen, I have been surprised – and impressed – by the level of cooperation from all walks of life in the Sultanate. People banded together to work towards a common goal – to rid the country of the virus by offering whatever support was needed; be it donation, volunteerism or simply following the health protocols closely.
Then came the announcement of a nationwide vaccination programme last year. A collective sigh of relief ensued, and we did our part by getting inoculated. Now that the third wave is subsiding, with over 60 per cent of the populace boosted and growing number of children and adolescents immunised, it is time to take the foot off the gas pedal and focus on economic and mental recovery.
As the health authority said yesterday, we have been recording decreasing numbers of daily cases for the past few days. While it is true that we are not entirely out of the woods yet, the daily press conference has been largely a briefing on the latest figures on infection number, death toll and vaccination rate. Such information can easily be obtained from the official social media platforms.
As such, I call for making the COVID-19 press conference a weekly affair, allowing the public to build up anticipation for the next installment and providing the media with more time to round up issues of quality instead of posing questions out of sheer obligation.
Pandemic Fatigue
