NARA'S NOTEPAD

 

COVID 19 – AS I SEE IT...

As we all know that COVID – 19 has changed the normal way of life in the whole world. The coronavirus is a virulent one that spread throughout the globe killing millions of human beings. So far no drug or vaccine is successful to control the virus or cure the disease. It is sad for all of us to hear some of our dear ones suffering badly with this virus infection. People who were pious to the core, good-hearted, kind to the poor, scholars, doctors, health workers, businessmen and women, politicians, and all kinds of humans are the prey to this invisible virus. Every day we hear the sad and bad news of COVID -19’s spread and the number of cases. Wearing face masks, using sanitizers for hands, and keeping a social distance of 2m are the measures suggested to avoid the virus infection. Lockdowns in urban areas, prevention of people’s movement from one place to another, stalling transports (rail, bus, and flights) were adopted to check the spread.

No one thought the virus came out of the city of Wuhan in China. It was thought that the wet market of the city was the origin of the virus. It was not proved, so it was thought that the Virology Laboratory of Wuhan is responsible for letting out the deadly virus. The Chinese people living all over the world went to their native places, including Wuhan for the Chinese Lunar New Year got infected. While returning to various parts of the world they carried the virus in their body and spread it all over the world. That happened in January and February 2020. From the beginning of 2020 to date COVID – 19 has changed the normal way of our life.

Schools, colleges, and universities were closed and students were asked to go home. Most of the small and medium-scale industries and businesses were closed and the migrant laborers went back to their home states. Transportations stopped functioning. The poor migrants with their families traveled by their two-wheelers and even some on foot reached their native places. Hard time indeed for those helpless migrants! There was a loss of life on the way too.

From June 2020 onwards the governments started to relax some rules so that people started coming out of their home to buy their day to day necessities. Also, it was allowed for restaurants and markets to open. The government slowly operated city buses and permitted people to go from one district to another. Because of such relaxations, the COVID – 19 started spreading to villages too. The number of cases increased every day. Some people ignored the government rules as usual. They never wore face marks, used sanitizers, and followed social distancing.

 The government started worrying about the economy. Unemployment grew. Industries suffered. Income to the government fell sharply. So it made new policies to build up the economy slowly by relaxing the lockdown. In India cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru are worst affected. Hospitals charged huge sums of money from the patients for treatment. The doctors and health workers were and are doing a wonderful job to treat the patients from taking all the risks. A good number of people recovered and returned home. No one is capable of controlling COVID – 19 so far. Some people advise the public to take some foods or tonics to improve body immunity for the virus. It was also informed that aged people are more susceptible to COVID – 19. So aged people like me are careful in not going out unless it is needed. They are advised to stay at home.

People who work in IT and related companies were asked to work from home. Because of the broadband and WiFi facility, people can work from anywhere in the world. Similarly, school going students to college students are taught online in order to save the academic year. Even the examinations are conducted online. So the virus has changed the normal way of our life. It is not only for us Indians but for all the nationalities who suffer due to COVID – 19. Changes are welcome. But the changes brought by the coronavirus may continue and people will be used to these changes and even adopt after the pandemic comes to an end. Will there be an end to COVID – 19? – a big question no one is able to answer at present. - NARA