The pandemic situation can be overcome by multiplying positive behavioral models. This way, those who deny the existence of COVID-19 could be converted into partners, said public health expert Ala Tocarciuc. “There where there is fear and panic, we need psychologists. There where we have bias in communication, among leaders, we need to unite them. I would like to see all the leaders of the largest parties of Moldova, who are opinion leaders, including the President and the ministers, saying before video cameras that we should protect ourselves or we cannot start the school year, cannot reinvigorate the economy,” the expert stated in the public debate “Who is afraid of COVID-19 and why” that was staged by IPN News Agency.
According to her, the WHO a month ago noted that the behavioral deviations contribute to the spread of COVID-19 and that the fake news generates deviation in behavior. “The WHO created a working group whose goal is to study these deviations through the angle of age, social status, geographical area and other filters so as to identify solutions. A special survey on COVID-19 is now conducted in many countries so as to assess the behavioral deviations in the population during the pandemic,” stated Ala Tocarciuc, noting in other countries there are already indicators showing that many people there know a lot about COVID-19.
She said some of the people could influence others by explaining the possible impact on the parents or grandparents. The doctors should be helped to cope with the situation by people from all the country’s districts who had been infected and recovered. They could mobilize and create an association of post-COVID patients.
Many community, religious or political leaders contributed to the formation of the category of COVID-19 negationists, as did the misinformation, fake news and denial of science. Social inequity is another component that made a contribution in this regard.
“If we look at the situation from all angles and identify all of them in our country, we will realize how we can work with these people and how we can convert them from negationists into those who accept. I think this is very important. In different countries, the negationists were formed by different elements of this ecosystem. We had all of them,” concluded Ala Tocarciuc.
The debate “Who is afraid of COVID-19 and why” was the 149th installment of the debates project “Developing political culture through public debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
