Imagine it is January, 2020. Life is as ordinary as it can be all around the world and people have been going about their daily lives as they probably have since time immemorial. Amongst other news, there have been talks about a certain clandestine ‘virus’ of some sort, perhaps nothing more than a discovery in the field of Virology, purely academic in nature, as inconspicuous as the common flu and apparently too innocuous to raise any eyebrows anywhere.
Fast forward to the present in August, 2021 and we couldn’t have been any more wrong! COVID-19, as we all know it today, has been like the most ‘viral’ trend that the world has witnessed in recent memory, and it has been ‘stuck on’ mankind ever since, except the fact that this ‘trend’ has been an absolutely unwelcome one, and it has unleashed waves of unspoken miseries of all kinds over civilian populations all around the globe. It has been close to two years now since the first outbreak of the pandemic, and we have come to know more and more about the ‘Hows’, the ‘Wheres’ and the ‘How-to-combats’ of the disease, all thanks to the endless efforts of scores of tireless researchers and doctors and a handful of journalists and professionals in the media industry who have tried to do everything to put the word out. In spite of that, however, it is my opinion that a lot of people from the general population are either still unaware or do not fully understand a lot about it, or they do but still chose to deliberately ignore the same as the constant advices of the essential workers seem to fall on deaf ears. That is the case, I believe, at least with the citizens of India, a country that is only behind USA in terms of the number of confirmed cases and behind only USA and Brazil as far as the number of deaths is concerned. What is even more disconcerting is that India witnessed an unprecedented surge in the number of cases and COVID-related deaths during the ‘second wave’ that hit in March, 2021 only a few months back, which was testament to the fact that India as a nation had failed to learn and prepare from what unravelled in countries like Italy and USA during the first stages of the outbreak. It laid bare a lot about the mentality, approach and behaviour of not just authoritative systems like the government, but also people in general at an individual level and it is the latter that will be our main topic of discussion here.
Let’s get one thing clear first; COVID-19 doesn’t happen to anyone by accident; well, in most cases, it doesn’t. It is not the case that it is present in someone by birth, nor is it a genetic disorder or a disease like cancer that can happen just by chance without any plausible explanation or control of the affected person over it. Needless to say, in the majority of occasions, the spread of the virus infection can be stopped or at least thwarted to some extent simply by ‘doing the right thing’. There is a lot that lies in our hands as individuals in this regard, and the first step towards the same is fully understanding and acknowledging one’s role and what we can and we should do in order to keep ourselves, our loved ones and consequently potentially the entire society (places like New Zealand, for example) healthy and safe from the pandemic.
We have all come across the words ‘Social Distancing’ countless number of times by now, albeit I doubt if we really comprehend the implications of it or truly practice it. Furthermore, in a country like ours with a population of more than 1 billion, there aren’t many public places where one wouldn’t expect to find crowds during any time of the day, and as such, physical distancing is reduced to a mere theory. In other words, the best way to practice social distancing is essentially to stay indoors as much as possible and not go out without an emergency, such as a medical emergency or in those cases where people have no other choice but to step out, such as in order to earn their livelihoods, etc. This is somewhere, I unfortunately believe, the general population of our country has been very irresponsible and selfish to an extent. The evidence is in the number of public places that are not really ‘necessary’ at this time of the hour being frequented by people, especially the younger generations, and the blatant disregard of rules put in place by authorities, such as mask mandates and the like. Restaurants, nightclubs, roadside eateries, crowded tourist destinations, parties, get-togethers, public gatherings and what not! People have attended and organized marriages, they have hung out in malls, cafes and pubs in groups of many, and met up for occasions like parties for different reasons, festivals and all kinds of celebrations, hardly following the strongly advised rules and regulations regarding wearing of masks, all in the midst of a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of millions and still continues to do so! We need to understand that it is in our control – the decision to not go out unless absolutely necessary – that can help bring the total number of cases down drastically and consequently perhaps an end to this pandemic, but only if there is a collective effort towards the cause. It deeply saddens me just thinking about how many lives, how much resources, time and energy could have been saved if only people were more aware and realized that the onus is on them more than anybody else to ensure the pandemic comes to an end as quickly as possible. If everybody would have done their part to their absolute best, we wouldn’t have been in a situation at present where the onset of a further third wave looks imminent at all circumstances.
There are some misconceptions involved regarding understanding how the infection actually spreads, and clarifying them is rather simple to be honest. One just has to assume that every single individual who he or she doesn’t share the same roof with and comes in close contact with is a potential source of infection, and that includes relatives and very close friends as well. Provided that an individual ensures that every single person in his or her household steps out of the house only in absolute emergencies, always wears masks properly whenever in public places, avoids crowds and stays indoors as much as possible, the equation becomes really simple. Along with this, getting fully vaccinated is the need of the hour. Of course, one can always visit a friend’s or a relative’s house, but if and only if the same practices are being strictly followed in those households as well. That ensures that a protective ‘bubble’ of some sort remains intact and one’s surroundings are never compromised. Public gatherings such as marriages, parties and social gatherings are a strict no-no, since more the number of people, more is the risk of having a potential source of infection. The main reason this is absolutely vital is because no matter how close-knit families and communities may be, it is very difficult at any point of time to know about the specific whereabouts of a person not living with another under the same roof in the same place, where they have been in the past, who all they’ve met and what their daily activities have been like, and this is true even for extended families and relatives. If at all such associations are unavoidable, masks should be mandatorily worn by all at all times, because for all one knows, an acquaintance in this situation is almost equivalent to a stranger. Secondly, it is best to avoid consuming food in public places. Even though some restaurants and eateries try their best at ensuring all the required protocols are in place, there is always a chance of contamination anywhere and in anything that involves physical contact of people and removal of masks while in presence of the same. Again, it goes without saying that ‘people’ here includes relatives and close friends too; basically anybody who you do not have the information about if they have followed the aforementioned practices or not.
The primary motive of this expression of opinions is not to point out flaws or hurt anybody’s sentiments, but to educate and make the common people aware about the fact that they are themselves their BEST SHOT at ensuring they do not fall prey to this completely avoidable (in a lot of cases) ailment at any cost. It is no secret that there have been lapses at massive, appalling levels and that the government, health organizations and other institutions have been caught completely off guard, be it the shambolic failure of the healthcare systems, the lack of basic facilities in hospitals like oxygen cylinders and beds and the government’s inability to prevent avoidable large-scale gatherings in public places for a multitude of different reasons, and all these incidents have engendered a lot of flak and strong condemnation. But in spite of all this, for an individual, the ‘first line of defence’ are THEY THEMSELVES. In other words, DIY – Do it yourself – is the way to go. The concept is self-explanatory – if there is anything amongst the practices mentioned above that is within one’s control, then he or she should do it without fail, or rather not do it so to speak. Instead of letting our guards down, we can drastically reduce the chances of an impending case of infection by ‘cutting it down at the source itself’, preventing a completely avoidable bottleneck later, perhaps in queues outside hospitals or oxygen-cylinder stores by the time it may be too late. Your friends are asking you to join them for a get-together outdoors that will involve consumption of food and lowering of masks? Just politely refuse. People are frequenting places like malls, marketplaces and other crowded areas? Avoid exactly the same and stay indoors. You feel an urge to savour your favourite restaurant delicacies? Order in and then make sure you heat the food long enough before consumption. Steer clear of unpacked and unsealed food items that cannot be heated or washed. People are not wearing masks in public? Do it yourself anyway, always. Wash your hands with soap and use a sanitizer whenever and wherever possible. The basic idea here is to do away with everything and every action that can be done away with and that is not an absolute necessity. It is the least we can do, not just for the safety of ourselves and the people we know, but for others too; a combined effort can work wonders here and ensure that the absolutely critical cases of the infection are addressed on priority. It will help in alleviating pressure off hospitals and all the doctors, nurses and other essential workers who have been toiling thanklessly, working overtime and give them a well-deserved break during such desperate times. One can advisably take it even a step further and ask others to do the same as well; more the number of people cooperating, the better!
All things considered, it has to be kept in mind in this regard that these practices are pertinent only to apparently and undoubtedly avoidable actions. There are numerous such situations where following these steps may not be a viable option. Examples such as the impossibility of imposing a lockdown for indefinite periods because of the pressure it creates on businesses, people’s livelihoods and the economy as a whole, suspending public modes of transport for a long time or even the postponement of a social event because of economic constraints or other such reasons come under this category. However, in this day and age when essential places of work such as offices, corporates and educational institutions at all levels have been closed off and a ‘Work from home’ approach has been promoted and utilized as much as possible, it is not at all difficult to understand what is being referred to when using the terms ‘avoidable’ or ‘preventable.
To sum up, even though there have been significant improvements in the pandemic situation as compared to before, it is far from over. What we need to understand is that COVID-19 is a threat to a particular person as much as it is to anyone else. ‘It does not discriminate’. Bluntly put, because of the nature of the condition, we are facing nothing short of a ‘Russian Roulette’ here. Old and young, fit and comorbid, it has left enough devastations both in the form of life and resources in its wake to be taken very seriously, and it should be considered deadly to everyone alike. Fun and merrymaking will come and go, but the changes this threatens to make to all our lives may very well be irreparable and irreversible in a lot of cases. Thus, it falls on our shoulders to ensure we do everything in our hands to warrant the safety of not just ourselves, but people who live with us, our family members including those who have compromised immunity systems such as elders and patients and all our loved ones. Following all the right practices at an individual level as much as possible and creating awareness about the same in the society is of paramount importance and it can be a potential key to the complete eradication of perhaps the gravest of all concerns for humankind at the moment.
Comments