2020: The year of the Virus
The year 2020 will, in all probability be known as the year of the CoronaVirus.
Since it was first diagnosed from Wuhan, China in late December 2019, the Novel CoronaVirus, or the Covid-19 as it is technically known has spread worldwide at an alarming rate. Currently, no country in the world is safe from it’s deadly grasp.
Map Source: https://infographics.channelnewsasia.com/covid-19/map.html
And it is only getting worse day by day. Daily, the count of people getting infected keeps increasing as are the fatalities. At present, the total count of the infected stands at 22,67,830 people of which 155,185 people have already succumbed to this disease ( count as of 18th April 2020, 18:20 hours Indian Standard Time, source: worldmeters.info).
As of this moment the USA, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, UK and Iran (apart from China) are the worst affected countries.
Governments of various nations have now woken up to the fact (albeit a bit too late) that unless acted upon immediately, this disease is only going to get worse in the coming months.
Lock-downs have been initiated. Malls, Cinema Halls, Public Places and Restaurants have been ordered to close their doors till further notice. Schools and Colleges have been shut down. Countries have sealed their regional and national borders. All non-essential travel within and without has been curtailed. Social distancing has been propagated aggressively.
All these measures have taken their toll.
Tourism has taken a big hit. All over the world, stock markets are in the red. Economies are crumbling. People are resorting to panic buying and hoarding as supplies of essential commodities such as Toilet Paper and Hand Sanitizers are falling short of demand. Supermarkets shelves all over the world wear a deserted look. Recession has kicked in, and could only get worse in the coming days as the number of the jobless keeps increasing.
It’s your typical doomsday scenario. Unless it is nipped in the bud, things will keep getting darker.
In India, our government has acted with pro-activeness to contain the spread of the Virus so far. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. While our count of cases per million remains very low, the count of infected persons has gone up in recent times.
It takes two hands to clap and make noise. The onus of curbing the Virus lies with both the Government and us Citizens.
The Government, on it’s part, has acted responsibly and proactively till now. It has made tireless efforts to scan each international arrival at airports and seaports and other points of entry. It has also made great efforts to bring back our citizens stranded in various affected countries such as China, Iran and Italy. However, there is still a lot more to do.
World Health Experts have raised concerns stating that there haven’t been enough people tested in India. This would probably be a major factor in the spread of the Virus.
While we have developed our own indigenous Covid-19 testing kit, I believe that with international and regional travel now halted, the scope for entry of infected persons from abroad is very less. What we need to worry about now is community transmission.
Therefore, it is imperative that Covid-19 tests be made accessible across the nation and more and more people be tested. Pro activeness is what is going to win us this battle in the long run.
And while the Government is doing its bit: we the people also have to fulfill our part of the bargain.
Recent events have seen people congregating at large religious gatherings defying government orders to stay indoors. And what we have dreaded the most has happened. Many of those who attended have been tested positive. And many more are still roaming Scot free.
Simply put, there’s no real idea of how many infected people are out there. As long as they roam free, they are a threat to the nation’s health and security. They endanger not only themselves but other innocent persons as well.
These kinds of irresponsible actions by a few renegade set of people puts an entire community in disrepute.
We all have the collective responsibility to flatten the curve, so to speak. We are currently in the phase Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the US were a month back. Back then, there weren’t so many cases and their respective governments thought they had it all under control.
They couldn’t have been more wrong.
Within a span of a few weeks the cases started spiraling at an alarming, exponential rate. Medical infrastructure for these countries were put under immense strain as the patient count kept piling up. Very soon their advanced health care systems cracked under the pressure.
As the count kept rising, their infrastructure simply could not keep up.
India should not go that way.
Imagine what the consequences would be if the disease spiraled across India the way it did in the nations mentioned above.
India has a large population base. A vast majority of our populace, especially in the rural areas do not have access to quality healthcare services. All it needs is a small spark to set the entire country ablaze.
One irresponsible infected person, roaming free can create havoc.
South Korea thought they had it under control. Until patient no. 31 upset the equations. Within a single day, cases spiraled triple fold.
There are a number of patient number 31’s roaming Scot free in India. If they are not quarantined soon, it will be a nightmare of the worst proportions.
India’s population is a staggering 1.3 billion (1300 million). Even if 1% of the populace gets infected, this would mean 1.3 million (1300000) people. This would put our entire medical infrastructure under tremendous stress.
It will be a scenario far more terrifying than everything we ever imagined.
It should not be too much to ask people who have been in touch with infected persons and those who have developed similar symptoms to turn themselves over for a thorough examination. This way, you will break the chain and do your part in curbing the Virus spread. The government is making great efforts, but given the magnitude of our country it cannot check in each and every household.
Herein lies our responsibility to co-operate with the government and do our bit.
The worst affected by this pandemic are the migrant workers and bonded laborers who are trapped in big cities without food or shelter.
Spare a thought for them and help them out in whatever little way you can.
This Pandemic has also brought to fore the real heroes of society: Doctors, Nurses, Healthcare professionals, Sanitary workers, Municipality officials, Police Officers and others who are risking their lives for us to stay safe.
Also to be thanked are the respective State and governments for ensuring that supplies of food and other essential stuff are readily available.
Take a bow, you lovely people! Right now, I have only words to show my appreciation for your work. But believe me, they come right from the bottom of my heart.
When this pandemic is finally over, when the dust settles there are a lot of questions going to be asked.
How did the Virus originate?
What is the mode of transmission?
Was this a deliberately released bio-weapon or some experiment gone out of control?
Who is primarily responsible for spreading this across the world?
Is there a risk of the Virus recurring in people who have contracted it earlier and have been treated successfully?
What is the vaccine for this Virus and what are its side effects?
China right now has the answer to many of the questions raised above.
Since the Virus originally originated in China, all circumstantial evidence points towards it. China will have to answer a lot of unpleasant questions from all directions. And judging by what the reactions of other countries have been so far, it had better prepare a solid defense.
First and foremost, it needs to take responsibility for the origin of the Virus. There is no doubt that the source of the Virus is from China itself. The very fact that the Virus originated in Wuhan, which also has a laboratory which specializes in research and development of Biological pathogens makes it look like China with it’s hand caught in the cookie jar.
There are numerous theories of the Virus transmitting via bats to humans. How much of this is true, we don’t know. Again, China can help by providing a lot of answers.
Another interesting point to note is how China successfully managed to curb the spread of the Virus within its own borders, but failed to prevent it from spreading internationally.
Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai have been relatively untouched by the Virus, but within a month of it being discovered, the infection has spread like bush fire all across the globe.
I believe that China, as a country of this world has a responsibility of sharing it’s know-how of this disease to those in need.
This is a time when the world must come together and act in harmony to save the planet.
Each day you wake up, thank God that you and your loved ones are safe and don’t forget to say a prayer for all those affected.
Stay at home. Stay safe !