“For lack of knowledge, my people perish” - Hosea 4:6a

The above is part of a scripture I never understood as a child. I always wondered how that worked, and no matter how my child-like mind turned it, I never got the hang of it. I did not understand how people died because they lacked knowledge.

I am older now, and the scales have fallen from my eyes. I have seen it happen in many instances and currently, I think it is at an all-time peak.

Statistics about Covid-19 worldwide are devastating, with over 1.6 million people infected, over 100,000 dead and no cure in sight, it is obvious that we are in perilous times and we need to work around the clock to get rid of this menace.

In this, we need to be disciplined and use every known tactic to stop the movement of the virus. It is an effort that does not lie on the head of one person; we are all at risk, and we are all called to put our hands to the mill to play our parts and ensure that this does not spread any further.

But is that the case?

All over the world we have seen videos of the debilitating effects of people who ignored the signs and warnings from the health officials in neighboring countries. They eventually fell heavily and started screaming out to other countries not to do what they did but sadly, it looks like ignorance has become a bigger battle to fight than the pandemic.

A major call from the health officials worldwide is for people to stay home, or practice social distancing. However, we have seen people clearly violate these measures and mingle as if nothing is at stake. 

They have questioned the rationale behind the directives and thrown common sense to the dogs. They are making senseless counter-arguments and spreading conspiracy theories to suggest that Covid-19 is a hoax, and people are believing.

Unfortunately, more people seem to believe these than the health directives.

This makes the fight against Covid-19 more difficult because there is the need to fight the ignorance being spread, even harder than the pandemic itself.

The statement “Ignorance is a disease” is very underrated. In these times it has become very evident, that it is a bigger battle to fight.

In fact, I daresay, that Ignorance is the first pandemic.

Sadly, ignorance is not reserved for the illiterate. It is more dangerous when those peddling it are the ones who have the ears of society. Yet, they, single-handedly have killed more people than any disease can, and any disease ever will.

Will we get to the end of Covid-19, I strongly believe so! What is much more difficult to fight is the ignorance being circulated as truth.

As we stay safe in these times, let us follow the directives to the letter but most importantly, let’s be mindful of what we listen to, and share.

Help heal, not kill.