The youth of today is a youth that is very aware of their rights. However, the responsibilities attached to those rights are sometimes ignored and forgotten. I believe that exercising your rights as a human being but not fulfilling the responsibilities to those rights leads to “abnormal use” i.e. abuse of those rights. It has been said that “with great power comes great responsibility” and that has so much meaning when talking about the responsibilities attached to those rights.
Let us take a moment and talk a bit about the responsibilities that the youth have with regards to curbing the spread of Covid-19. We all know how the second wave took the country by storm whereby there was a rapid spread of the deadly virus. This was mostly seen in December.
Through my observations acquired through social media, I have seen the reckless behaviour that the youth were engaging in, which led to the massive spread of Covid-19. All the Covid-19 protocols were ignored. Social distancing, wearing of masks, regular hand sanitising or washing hands were ignored because “Ke December boss!”
This kind of behaviour was encouraged even further when the youth lapped up the notion that they are asymptomatic. The youth ignored their responsibility to their families and at the end of the day casually returned to homes that have elderly members living with comorbidities that put them at a high risk of suffering from severe features of Covid-19.
I was there in the second wave when patients were dying at a pace that healthcare workers were struggling to keep up with. Most of these patients were the elderly people with multiple diseases, especially hypertension and diabetes. From those that I had the privilege of engaging with before they succumbed to the virus, they all said that they tried to adhere to the Covid-19 protocols but their children and grandchildren were not.
As much as the youth were responsible for most of the high numbers we saw of Covid-19, I believe this shows how much impact the youth can have when channeling their energy in the right direction. The right direction is fuelled by being knowledgeable. The youth have an impact on the upsurge of the Covid-19 statistics and they can use the same power to help restrain the pandemic.
As youth, we are full of innovative ideas. We use social media more effectively than any other generation; we have more resources and connections to help us navigate our way through life. All that must be brought to the fight against Covid-19. We cannot win this fight until the youth see the need to step up and do something.
One thing we ought to remember is that with numbers of infection increasing, the more there will be a burden on the health system. Unfortunately, the public sector (which does not have as many people on the ground as it should) struggles when there is a pandemic to deal with, on top of all the other pathologies we have to deal with.
This is why we need to ensure that we do all we can to curb the spread of Covid-19. This includes being vaccinated, when the turn for the youth to do so comes around eventually.
• Dr Magaela is a medical practitioner and author.
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