It has been a while that I have made an entry in this blog of mine. The last time I remember having posted here and which you can all see below was when the Coronavirus pandemic was just starting to kick in and the effects of the nationwide lockdown were being discussed day in and out. That definitely was the need of the hour and that was what was done. Yes, the scenes of acute suffering of the common and hapless lot still ache our hearts and will continue to do so, as long as we are alive. But above all, what the people were most paranoid about was the nature of this disease which had just hit our civilization, a couple of months (then) back and about which we, as a race, were not at all aware. For us, specifically living in India, the thing was more sudden, if you remember. Till 29th January, there were no cases in India, as we had our first case of infection on 30th January in Kerala. Throughout February, the figures stayed low and the general feeling was that we could overcome it by maintaining basic hygiene and social distancing.
We went in for the nationwide lockdown, towards the end of March and the common mass felt that we could defeat COVID-19 by imposing a series of lockdowns, though the virologists and the epidemiologists warned us time and again that it was only a containing process and not a method we can use to overcome this pandemic. People were still learning, you see. They were still coming to terms with the new normal that the Coronavirus had imposed on the human society. To be honest, at that juncture, I didn't feel that the number of infected people in India would shoot up to 3.6 million, by the end of August. But the warning was always there, wasn't it? That was how the lockdown days were, at least till Lockdown 4.0 (end of May).
The lockdown had plenty of forced collateral damages, the most brutal among them being the one inflicted upon the already shrunk economy. So, we all knew that at some point of time, the Government would be forced to open the country and start the Unlock phase. This started from 1st June. And that is when, it all started to get murky, as had been expected. All the simulations which had been carried out by the various experts on how the situation would take shape, once the lockdown is lifted, started to come true. The forced (again) unlock resulted in a huge surge of daily cases across the country. States (like Kerala) which had scored huge initial victories against the virus, started to panic with the new situation and as a result saw their condition turning for the worse along with the other states in the country, which were already under the scanner for their bleak situation right from the very start of the pandemic (like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu).
As I frame this piece on 31st August, 2020, I can still see a record increase of daily infections in India (higher than the likes of the worst hit countries of the US and Brazil). August hasn't been really good with the numbers (daily positive cases and deaths as well). And to be honest, I don't think we have hit the peak yet (which I believe the US has already done). So that's surely a cause of concern. But among many things which may have accounted for this steep rise in number, the single-most important factor has to be the record increase in the number of testing that is being carried out across the country every single day. That's definitely a good thing, as we have to find and isolate the infected at the earliest stage possible. But on the downside, this will inevitably get the numbers up, as we are seeing currently.
But one thing on the positive side is that the people have become and got themselves educated on the virus more than they were, say a couple of months back. The common lay man now knows the difference between the symptomatic and the asymptomatic cases. They know that it's not the end of the road, even if you get infected by the virus. There's this 97%+ chance (in India) that you will recover fully and be back on your feet soon. So the fear factor has been thankfully reduced from the minds of the people. That's a real blessing, taking into consideration that they don't have much of an option, other than getting out and hitting the road. They can't stay locked down forever, can they? They have to earn their bread for the day, which they wouldn't be able to from the confines of their houses, in a country like ours. And what keeps them going nowadays, is the fact that we are starting to enter a phase where a viable vaccine (possibly multiple) seems pretty much in the fray. News reports have thronged us over the last few weeks telling about the positive results coming out of the trial phases of the various vaccine candidates. So there's a glimmer of hope, which the people are growing fond of these days. Let's hope that the glimmer only turns brighter by every passing day.
But there's a catch in there. The earliest we can have a vaccine is December, 2020 (though it's being widely reported it can get pushed to early 2021). So, there is still a lot of time we have on our hands before we have a possible cure for us. We do have to sustain this period of minimum 4-5 months. And the best way to go about this is by bolstering our immunity system. Already there are bundles of reports which suggest what one should be doing to ensure that they get this done. From consuming more citrus fruits for Vitamin C, to soaking in more sunlight in order to gain in more Vitamin D, all of these are in the public domain nowadays for gaining that advantage in terms of one's immunity response. And trust me, this will definitely help us a lot, in these coming months, what we are considering to be the final phase of this deadly showdown with the Coronavirus.
So, as I was saying. The last 5-6 months have been really tough, perhaps the toughest this generation of ours have ever seen. But my belief is that we are starting to come to a crossroads when it's not that much about the fear and oblivion that the first shock waves of this deadly pandemic had caused. It's more about how we get along with this 'known enemy', what we can do about it, how we can change our lives and our lifestyle for that matter for our own good and how we can finally stamp our authority on this deadly virus. I won't be getting overenthusiastic by saying 'victory over the virus', because that is something still quite far-fetched, something which we can't say is 100% possible from our current view. Leaving that discussion for a future blog, I would conclude this by saying that not all is lost. Actually, we have gained a lot in these last few months... a lot of crucial information, statistics, data, etc on the virus, which make us more aware about it. Of course, a known enemy is always better than an unknown one. Adios! Stay safe, everybody!
