Graph showing COVID deaths and positive tests
Graph showing COVID deaths and positive tests

So, Moses came down from Mount Sinai and spoke to the assembled crowd waiting to hear the Word of God inscribed on two huge tablets of stone.

Moses spoke thus: I have some good news… and some bad news. First the good news. I managed to get our Lord God down to only Ten Commandments. Now the bad news: adultery is still on the list.

And what, you may well ask, has this to do with Covid?

The answer is the 5th Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Kill.

So how do we apply the 5th Commandment to the 30 people who have died of Covid here in Dominica?

There are two facts accepted by most people with regard to the vast majority of these deaths: (a) those who have died weren't vaccinated and (b) they did not go out and catch Covid. For the majority of these deaths the person caught Covid because a family member, a friend or a neighbour visited while they themselves carried Covid.

This, sadly, is an easy thing to do as most people do not display signs of having Covid until several days after they are capable of passing it on.

Which brings us to the key point: what can we do to stamp out Covid that is currently running relentlessly through the country?

Obviously wearing masks helps. So does keeping a social distance wherever possible. So does covering your nose with your arm if you are about to sneeze.

While I accept the anti vaxers think taking the vaccine is worse than catching Covid, the numbers suggest this simply isn't true.

This chart shows how the number of people testing positive in Dominica has grown during the last three months. The second figure, which starts below the number of people testing positive, shows the number of people who have died in Dominica, multiplied by 150 so show the data on the same scale.

As you can see, as at Wednesday 20th October 2021, a total of 4,465 people have tested positive and there have been 30 deaths. These increases are as projected in the previous article in The Sun published a few weeks ago.

Nobody wants to break the 5th Commandment. Nobody wants to kill a member of their family, their neighbour or someone in their community.

So, even if you think you are strong, you have a great immune system, you will survive etc please think about the effect of passing Covid on to someone else.

Stop thinking Me, Me, Me. Start to think We, We, We.

In conclusion: we need to get on top of Covid. We all want to enjoy a long, healthy life. We want to welcome back tourists to help get the economy going again. We want to celebrate Independence. And the Creole Music Festival. And Carnival. Properly. Like we used to.

So please take the vaccine. And help us return life to how it was before the evil Covid started to ruin our lives. Thank you.

Peter Dick.