Permalink Submitted by Setargew Kenaw on 25 March 2020
Organization/ affiliation:
Addis Ababa University
Dear Mayke,
I find your effort to make sense of why the spread of the coronavirus has become relatively low in Africa perceptive. There are guesses here and there, most in fragmentary forms. I find your assessment systematic and with new insights. Thank you for that.
I am writing this to share what has transpired here in Ethiopia.
I came back to Ethiopia from my visiting fellowship with the African Studies Centre Leiden on 19 March, two weeks before the initial plan, for the obvious reason. I am in self isolation in my own house; today is my seventh day. But I am in constant touch with people via phone and I follow the local news media. Lots of speculations. A few of the key guesses why the spread is/looks low:
1. Half jokingly, some say what we eat has a lot of red pepper (chili), spices, etc. and this will stand in the way of the coronavirus from spreading like it did/does in some other places.
2. Deeply religious people attribute it to divine intervention (those who believe in this, their number is not insignificant). The faithful leave the matter to God.
3. Weather...
4. Those subscribing to conspiracy theories: a few claim that the virus was a lab escapee, thus attacking those closer to the location of the lab, believing at once that the virus could be weakened when arriving in Africa.
5. Quite a few informed people (especially healthcare professionals) suspect that the worse may yet to come...
There is a saying in Ethiopia, which could be roughly translated “Let it be as you hoped.” So, I say that to you too for presenting a hopeful scenario.
Be this as it may, there seems to be little or no sensitivity to the coronavirus pandemic here. We don’t see any good preparation other than planning to quarantine people who come from Asia and Europe. (Not yet started, I guess. Officially announced on the 23rd of March by the Prime Minister.) Schools are of course closed since one week ago. However, the great majority of citizens do not seem to take some precautionary measures other than panicking.
Thanks again and stay safe!
Setargew Kenaw Fantaw
Addis Ababa, 25th of March, 2020.
Dear Mayke,
I find your effort to make sense of why the spread of the coronavirus has become relatively low in Africa perceptive. There are guesses here and there, most in fragmentary forms. I find your assessment systematic and with new insights. Thank you for that.
I am writing this to share what has transpired here in Ethiopia.
I came back to Ethiopia from my visiting fellowship with the African Studies Centre Leiden on 19 March, two weeks before the initial plan, for the obvious reason. I am in self isolation in my own house; today is my seventh day. But I am in constant touch with people via phone and I follow the local news media. Lots of speculations. A few of the key guesses why the spread is/looks low:
1. Half jokingly, some say what we eat has a lot of red pepper (chili), spices, etc. and this will stand in the way of the coronavirus from spreading like it did/does in some other places.
2. Deeply religious people attribute it to divine intervention (those who believe in this, their number is not insignificant). The faithful leave the matter to God.
3. Weather...
4. Those subscribing to conspiracy theories: a few claim that the virus was a lab escapee, thus attacking those closer to the location of the lab, believing at once that the virus could be weakened when arriving in Africa.
5. Quite a few informed people (especially healthcare professionals) suspect that the worse may yet to come...
There is a saying in Ethiopia, which could be roughly translated “Let it be as you hoped.” So, I say that to you too for presenting a hopeful scenario.
Be this as it may, there seems to be little or no sensitivity to the coronavirus pandemic here. We don’t see any good preparation other than planning to quarantine people who come from Asia and Europe. (Not yet started, I guess. Officially announced on the 23rd of March by the Prime Minister.) Schools are of course closed since one week ago. However, the great majority of citizens do not seem to take some precautionary measures other than panicking.
Thanks again and stay safe!
Setargew Kenaw Fantaw
Addis Ababa, 25th of March, 2020.