The Corona Days
The reports again spread that the outbreak started in December and one scientist gave a warning on this. Immediately he was hushed up. Later in February, he died after contracting the same disease. China concealed the matter from the world till January end or so. Then it started spreading to Italy and other countries. It spread through direct contact and one great relief was that it was not airborne. But later reports started coming that it could remain in the air for twenty minutes or so. No drugs had been invented, as it was totally new to the world. The countries started treating patients by the symptoms and by giving drugs used for other diseases like Malaria and AIDS. Mortality was high as the virus being a non-living thing and protean in its nature. It cannot be killed by any anti-biotic and it often gets stuck in the respiratory channel, and causes short breath and the patient dies. Though non-living, it becomes interactive once it comes across its favourable conditions.Evident symptoms are severe headache, fever developing into pneumonia, short breath etc. Recently reports have come that people were being affected even without showing any symptoms at all.
Kerala had set a model in its confrontation with the Covid -19 outbreak initailly. The Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Health Minister Ms.Shailaja rose to the occasion and immediately started remedial and precautionary measures. Within no time in the second week of March,some restrictions were implemented and from the 16th till the 21st lockdown of the State was initiated. From 21st it was extended to another month till 21st April. Again, it was extended to May 16th. People were advised to remain indoors. All the schools and colleges remained closed. All examinations were postponed to an indefinite date. All flights were cancelled. Kerala people by and large were co-operative and they obeyed the rules whereas in many other parts of India people were either careless or ignorant. The medical team in Kerala had been functioning excellently. Voluntary organizations were also doing their best to overcome the crisis. Now Ms.Veena George, in the portfolio of the Health Minister, is taking care of the needs of the hour.
It was said in the past that if there were another world war, all the human species might be extinct and if at all they survived they would have to start from the Stone Age. In the context of the outbreak of the coronavirus, it is now said that the world will be behind the clock at least by 50 years as the Economy is sure to fall because of the lockdown in all countries.
Houses were locked down. Countries were shut down. People got sufficient supplies. But nobody dared to come out, except for an emergency. “Stay home, Stay safe” suddenly became the slogan of the times. Rumours and reports, both false and true, flocked Facebook and other social media. People were not allowed to group with more than 10 numbers at a time. No gatherings. No meetings. For weddings, not more than twenty were allowed. For burials, not more than five or ten. No festivals in temples and churches. No worship and Holy Qurbana in churches. People watched their religious services online. Nobody was allowed to eat in hotels, but they could place orders and get parcels. On-line delivery was also available. No buses and trains were commuting. The world had never before witnessed such a bizarre situation.
Comedy and trolls floated on social media. Humourous situations and characters appeared in cartoons. Parodies and plays came ridiculing people. In a way, they relieved people of their dismal thoughts.
On the other side, some said a little bit of ‘slow down’ is essential at this time. Man had been in a mad race for power and money when the virus arrested him all of a sudden. He had been in the haste of demolishing every good thing of the past and adopting the new trends. He who was supposed to be the caretaker of Nature had moved against it, exploited it beyond the limit and the result was the environmental hazards the world is facing now. As there was less pollution due to less traffic, the air was becoming pollution-free during the days of restrictions. Those who were frequenting oxygen parlours in metro cities were freed from the need for it as the air was free. Accidents did not happen; illegal trafficking did not happen; brawls did not happen; brothels were unfrequented (of course to the inmates’ misery); hopefully no rapes and kidnapping.
What is the future of the world after this calamity? What is in store for mankind? People are scared to think about it. The economy will fall. Economic stability will be lost. Religious circles start talking about the end of the world or the end of the age. It all happened because of man’s carelessness and ruthlessness, that is the general view of the people. It is time for him to cool down, slow down and think of his priorities and values.
The second and the third waves of the corona virus have had the onslaught. But now the situation is slowly coming back to normalcy. Schools and colleges have opened. It was a pity that children had to remain shut in their homes for two years from 2020 to 2022. It is indescribable how happy children were in coming back to schools and meeting friends again. In colleges also students are immensely happy about the changeover. We witnessed two massive floods in the recent past in 2018 and 2019. We could overcome the gloom of the threat. Now, we have overcome the dejection caused by the pandemic. Man has always shown the spirit of resilience in all such dismal situations. But such situations leave certain reminders for humanity at large. We must not be callous towards our fellow beings. We should love and accommodate others. We must be selfless in our approach to the poor and the needy. Above all, I firmly believe that we must be God-fearing and conscientious. Let me conclude this chapter with the famous song:
(Cont’d)
