COVID-19, 'apio' sanitisers and human behaviour

So after literally encircling us through our neighbouring countries, the dreaded COVID-19 finally made a theatrical appearance in this republic.

While many had prayed feverishly in tongues that the virus would not seep through our borders, others had held the view that in looking at the law of probabilities, it was a matter of time.

Our casualties

For a very communal society such as ours, especially when it comes to our funerals and weddings and political rallies, among others, it appears we will have to make a fundamental shift in many of our behaviours as the world races to contain the situation.

The first casualty is the handshake, which comes quite instinctively to us when we meet each other. Especially at funerals, the handshake is quite obligatory, and it takes quite some effort to recoil from the handshake and offer the elbow shake that is being gradually popularised, courtesy of the Vice-President.

I was relieved the other day when at morning Mass, the priest announced we were skipping the sign of the peace which involved all-round handshaking.

These little things help and I think public education needs to be stepped up on how to take precautions while keeping calm.

Hopefully, the ugly partisanship in this country that tends to mar every national issue will be kept at bay because the virus knows no umbrella or elephant.

Be calm

Of course, understandably there is great public anxiety because of the uncertainties involved, even though malaria, cancer and other illnesses have killed far more people this year alone than COVID-19 has.

While taking the necessary precautions, perhaps the following statistics could help assuage nerves:

*Outside China where it started, COVID-19 has affected about 53,000 people in over 100 countries and territories

* 1,802 have died, representing 3.4 per cent meaning out of every 100 people infected , three to four die.

*The probability of those up to 50 years old dying after catching the virus is at most 0.4 per cent, meaning for every 1000 people in that age bracket that catch it, four will die.

*Most deaths occur in patients aged 70 and above. So far, no child between zero and 10 years is known to have died from COVID-19.

I am confident the casualties will come nowhere near the terrifying Spanish Flu of 1919 that wiped out up to 50 million people, for instance, or other pandemics known to man, because of the huge strides in health care.

Sanitising question.

In times such as these, panic buying in anticipation of the worst does trigger further public anxiety as scarcity sets in and a sense of Armageddon beckons.

A dear sister of mine, Ms Ivy-Barbara Arthur, has an interesting perspective on the economics of sanitiser prices and human behaviour in times of crisis. Her words, which run to the end of this article, run deep and true and she is my co-columnist this week:

“I cannot really blame the cut-throats traders who have inflated the prices of hand sanitisers on shelves at shops in the wake of coronavirus' arrival. Selfishness, greed are the root causes, very basic traits in most humans.

“I can understand the regular person who goes stocking up, buying in excess perhaps in panic. I can understand the shop owner who wants to ride with the tide for the increased demand for the product and so buys several more boxes. I can understand the street hawker who puts aside her regular wares and invests in a few packages to sell.

“Of course, with the increase in demand comes the increase in price. A 60ml bottle of Purell or Carex sanitiser that used to cost GH¢4 now going for GH¢5 is okay.”

Cruel hoarding, profiteering

“What I find cruel and downright evil, is the strategy of some traders pulling the high demand item off their shelves to hoard; exacerbating the artificial shortage and creating an even higher demand. They then return the cleanser at its highest peak of demand, selling them at atrocious prices! How can a 60ml bottle of hand-rub now cost GH¢10?’

“Everyone is complaining about the price gouging. The funny thing is, taxi drivers who increase their fares when it rains are also complaining. Traders who capitalise on out-of-season scarcity and hike the price of their wares — foodstuff, fruits, etc ironically, also are.

“Let the rains set in; that's when 'toilet puller' operators raise the fees they charge to dislodge septic material and empty manholes filled much faster by rain activity. It will be very upsetting to see shelves of hand-rubs being sold at reduced-to-clear prices to beat their expiry once COVID-19 blows over.”

Poor handwashing culture

“I don't blame the hand sanitiser mafias. The average Ghanaian would rather use hand sanitiser than soap and water. With most people, the hand washing culture just isn't there.

“People just wet their hands with water and dive into waiting meals that must be eaten with the fingers. They rather resort to soap afterwards to get rid of oil, scent and stain. After having ingested the germs, the water obviously could not wash off their hands before eating. Half of the time, water hardly flows through the taps in our homes and on business premises.

“How many eateries provide running water for clients to wash their hands in the eating area? That usually would require a trip to the wash room. If you don't want to lose your appetite, you don't do that before eating. Ghanaian washrooms — another story for another afternoon!”

'Apio' question

“Since the coronavirus is destroyed with any substance that has 60 per cent alcohol by volume, some have decided to rely on Ghana's locally produced spirit, akpeteshie, as their antiseptic. They prefer spending their money on a made-in-Ghana product, they say, instead of buying the disinfectants at such grossly inflated prices.’

“Akpeteshie is a highly potent, hard liquor with a high alcohol concentration. Up to 50 per cent, it is said. It is made of fermented and distilled palm wine or sugarcane.’

“In order not to waste it by pouring it on the hands as hand-rub, they say they'd rather drink it so it's cleansing capabilities work from the inside, outwards.”

‘So employers, in these COVID-19 days, should your staff turn up at work reeking of 'apio', one of the many varied, nicknames of the beverage, it's not them, it's their sanitiser at work. Don't blame them, they cannot get hand sanitisers to buy.”

Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng
E-mail: rodboat@yahoo.com