Fighting COVID-19 pandemic fatigue and complacency in Zimbabwe

Abstract

As COVID-19 continues to threaten local and global health, there are increased reports that the protracted COVID-19 pandemic is causing pandemic fatigue throughout the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines pandemic fatigue as demotivation and exhaustion to follow recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and decreased efforts to seek COVID-19-related information. While this is an expected natural response to a prolonged public health crisis, the pandemic fatigue and resultant complacency have the potential to undermine the efforts to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is particularly the case as new and more transmissible variants, such as the Delta and Omicron, continue to emerge. Complacency is described as a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger. Within the context of COVID-19, new SARS-CoV-2 infections continue to affect the populations globally, but the desire to follow protective guidelines seems to be waning. The WHO has warned that pandemic complacency can be as dangerous as the virus itself. In this correspondence, we give our perspectives on the potential drivers of pandemic fatigue and complacency in Zimbabwe. We also provide suggestions to effectively deal with both to minimize widespread com- munity transmission and the resultant impact on the public health sector in Zimbabwe.