A GUY'S VIEW - Technological defence against the coronavirus
The coronavirus is the latest threat to health and life on the planet. There is a mad scramble on to find the most effective ways to combat its spread.
While the coronavirus is not new, apparently the strain that is posing problems now has never been seen before. I am not qualified to offer an opinion on why this strain is so deadly.
As I understand it, this virus is much like the common cold or flu. These viruses are always around, but evolved strains emerge every year and require different medicines to control them. History tells us a lot about deaths from viruses in the past.
It is only a matter of time before the coronavirus reaches our shores, if it has not already done so. When that day comes or is admitted, what then? We do not have the capacity of the Chinese to build a fully equipped hospital in a few days. We cannot admit corona patients to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. And while we can quarantine a few people in some facility, what happens when their caregivers become infected and then infect their families and others in their communities? What do we do when someone in the community within which the quarantined are housed comes down with the virus and claim that it was spread from the facility and panic ensues?
These are not just questions. They are really hope not statements. While one hopes that these possibilities never materialise, it would be prudent to ask the questions and prepare for their eventuality.
The medical community will put their systems in place. But there is non-medical help that may greatly assist this effort. Any initiative that may limit the human contact that helps the virus to spread would be useful.
For many years, we have recognised the importance of using technology to advance our lives, especially our business activities. We like sweet talkers, but little beyond talk has happened in some important areas. To save lives, we may now have to act decisively to implement some of the technological developments of which we speak.
The one development which would be most effective in limiting potential dangerous contact, and which would be relatively easy to implement, is to allow employees to work from home, wherever this is possible. In this technological age, this could take thousands of persons off the street at peak hours and out of commonly occupied offices in business places and government departments.
Again, for some years now, we have talked about making Barbados a more business friendly environment. Many persons who are occupied with this concern have recognised that e-business would be an essential component of any such initiative. So why have we not done it?
The administrative functions of our government could be a lot more efficient if many of the routine contacts that are necessary were on-line. If we are able to file taxes on-line, why can’t we pay for our drivers’ licences on-line, for example?
We haul men before the court and to prison for not paying child support, but the court marshals have first to find them. Women complain that many of these men are hiding in plain sight, but that is another story.
That is the entry end, but what about the exit of the process? Women have to journey to court offices to be paid the support due to them, only to find out at times that no money was paid. At both the entry and withdrawal ends, online payments and deposits in stated accounts could take away this stress.
I struggle to understand why a man with a bank or credit union account and a debit or credit card would be unable to transfer money online to an account that the mother of his child has identified, and therefore, not have to go to a court or to a bank to make a deposit. The deposit that put him in trouble was made in private, so why not the others? The courts already make such orders, but, of course, without the online component.
Graft is a common feature in all offices where monies pass through or are stored. This could be reduced if cashless payments were made from account to account. This would require financial institutions to strengthen their internal procedures. There are still too many cases of dissatisfied customers of banks and credit unions who complain of unexplained movement of funds from their accounts.
Account safety is a matter of sound technology and effective supervision. Graft prospers where supervision is either slovenly executed or compromised, sometimes through nepotism or a lack of honesty. Sound background checks should be a central plank of employee selection. When employers cut corners with these investigations, they and their customers suffer later.
There are a number of departments where persons in supervisory roles or in management positions, bring in their relatives to work under them. As a result, when things go wrong, there can be no honest investigation. The investigation starts with a cover-up and can, therefore, disclose nothing.
Nothing suggests to me that our talented people are unable to institute the technological bridges we need to make our economy work efficiently and reduce the physical movement of people, thus reducing their ability to infect others if they are ill.
This need not be tied to the coronavirus. Every year, we lose thousands of man hours through the common cold and influenzas. One suspects that this is a significant cost to the health care system. However, because we do not see this as a major crisis, we prescribe antibiotics and analgesics and move on.
More emphasis on prevention would focus our minds on the spread of these diseases and on the concomitant measures that are necessary for safety. Home-work technology could be an effective barrier to the spread of all contagious diseases.