In the oral literature of the Akan, no animal is ascribed as much fearsomeness as the leopard.
Known as ?seb?, etwie or aboa fufuo, this predator was deadly to our ancestors because it could come close to human settlements and hide along the paths people used to go to their farms. Then it would strike without notice.
It could climb trees and hide in their foliage. And descend from the tops of the tallest trees with the speed of a hunting falcon.
On the ground, it had the agility of the domestic cat. Yet its jaws and the teeth they encased were as powerful as those of a lion.
The Akyem people, in particular, were so frightened of the leopard that they gave their King the symbolic name of ‘Etwie’.
Indeed, some of the most enchanting words that describe graceful, stealthy movement were accorded to the Etwie. In drum language and apae? lyrics, our ancestors apostrophised the leopard as a mighty creation, with the awe-inspiring name of Kurotwiamansa:
Kurotwiamansa nam seseaa ase ma seaseaa ase woso bribiribiri,
Na ?b?foro?!
[Even when Kurotwiamansa merely walks under the thicket, it rumbles and cries out: biribiribiribiri. So what would happen, if Kurotwiamansa were to climb into the thicket?]
Another lyric says almost the same thing but with a different connotation:
Kurotwiamansa nam haban ase
Rewe sika nhwiren!
[Kurotwiamansa is walking under the thicket,
Chewing on a flower made of pure gold!]
Well, that’s enough incantation of Kurotwiamansa as a legend of an animal. But why am I drawing such a fearsome animal to your attention today?
The point is that when I look at Covid-19, it reminds me of the horrendous power the leopard used to wield over our people. Covid-19, like the leopard, is no respecter of persons. It got Mrs. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of one of the most technologically-advanced states in the world, Germany. It also got Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Great Britain, once the ruler of an “empire on which the sun never set!”
And for good measure, it got the Ghana Minister of Health, who has bravely been leading us in the battle against the pandemic.
What can one say about such a sneaky and beastly entity?
Nothing much, I am afraid. Except this: PREVENTION IS THE ONLY METHOD THAT CAN CURB IT!
What do I mean? I mean that the countries that have managed most successfully to control the disease were all adherents of the preventive measures methodology employed to defeat Covid-19.
New Zealand is probably the most successful nation in preventing Covid-19, as can be gleaned from this official report:
QUOTE: Media release 19 June 2020
“There are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today. Yesterday our laboratories completed 6,273 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 327,460.?
“This is a high number of tests that represent a mix of testing in the community, but also testing at our managed isolation and quarantine facilities, and following up people who may have had contact with our recent confirmed cases…..
“Another two significant clusters have closed today – those associated with [a] wedding, ….and a rest home. There is one remaining significant cluster that is still open… Managed isolation or quarantine, is the key part of our border security, with the ROUTINE TESTING we have since added [constituting] an additional measure to strengthen the border…..?
“No one is now allowed to leave managed isolation, for any reason, without [first] returning a negative test for COVID-19…. On June 16, exemptions from managed isolation on compassionate grounds were suspended. UNQUOTE
Now, let us look at another very successful country, Taiwan:
QUOTE: “The first confirmed imported case in Taiwan was reported on January 21, 2020. [This] was an individual residing in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. As of April 11, 2020, a total of 385 cases have been confirmed in Taiwan, with 6 mortalities reported. There has so far been no evidence of community infection in Taiwan.
“ ]The reason is that] after the SARS outbreak in 2003, Taiwan has been routinely screening for fever on all inbound international transportation at ports of entry, and conducting quarantine assessments on the travel history of fever individuals. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic which first originated from Wuhan, China, the Taiwan Central Epidemics Command Centre (CECC) has been constantly strengthening international epidemic surveillance, as well as border control measures.
“To minimize the risk of any community outbreaks, passengers presenting with fever at international… ports of entry are required to clarify any travel history and undergo comprehensive health assessment to evaluate the need of on-the-spot compulsory transfer to hospital (medical evacuation).”UNQUOTE
What are the preventive measures we need to strengthen here? As the schools reopen, we ought to train more TESTING PERSONNEL and provide them with adequate numbers of test kits, so that if Covid-19 attacks any individual in a school, the infection can be very quickly detected and isolation measures put in place.
I emphasise that the testing is of particular importance, because even adults in Ghana are not keen on ALWAYS observing the discipline of wearing face masks, washing hands with sanitisers frequently, and observing social distance.
So it can be taken for granted that children and young adults will also fail to implement the measures, maybe out of sheer forgetfulness.
Meanwhile, I offer my best ayikoo [congratulations] to all Ghanaians who have been helping, in various unsung but heroic ways, to curb the proclivities of the predator, Covid-19 [Kurotwiamansa].
It has hung itself around our necks and is waiting to pounce.
But the Almighty has equipped us with brains. Even if we need to reintroduce the knock-down at any point, let us be brainy enough not to fear to do so!
By CAMERON DUODU