It's now nearly three months since coronavirus began wreaking havoc around the world. Over a hundred thousand are now ill and more than six thousand have died because of COVID-19. The numbers are constantly rising.
It all started in Huanan Seafood Market, a wet market in the city of Wuhan in China in the last week of December. The virus spread rapidly from there within China and later outside. The fact that it was the Chinese New Year holiday season only made matters worse since many people were travelling.
The symptoms are the all too familiar runny nose, cold, cough and fever. But two factors have made this a bit scary and kept it on the headlines around the world. One, the virus is new, and two, it has spread around the world like never before.
TRACKING THE SPREAD
Though it started from a congested and arguably unhygienic wet market, as the disease spread to different nations, it became associated with people who were only rich enough to fly from one nation another. Top-level artistes, sportspersons, and people in high positions of power were infected.
It has now moved to the secondary level of infection or local transmission stage, wherein people who haven't travelled anywhere are getting infected since they had come in contact with someone who carried the virus or they picked up the virus from some surface.
GUARDIANS WHO ARE ENSURING OUR SAFETY
The world is trying to contain the spread of the virus by different means. Lockdown of a city and 'social distancing' by people have now become the norm everywhere.
While a good majority us are playing it safe by staying indoors, keeping track of news in the comforts of our homes, checking our social media feeds, forwarding messages to all and sundry on how to take care, there is a group of people who are taking all the risk only to ensure that the rest of world is safe.
That is the community of healthcare workers, comprising doctors, nurses, paramedical personnel, healthcare officials, and a huge staff.
They don't play it safe and keep themselves away from the infected and the sick. They have to be in the midst of the very people who are ill and who need assistance. They have to tend the elderly who are at a high risk of succumbing to the disease.
COMMENDABLE JOB BY INDIA
India was one of the first countries to begin screening of incoming passengers at airports. It's being done at all international airports in the country. Yesterday, Kerala (which has a high number of positive cases) decided to screen even bus and train passengers coming into the state.
I am happy that in India, everyone who is fighting this war is doing an admirable job. There are so many first-person accounts of people who have witnessed high levels of efficiency by people are engaged in combating the pandemic.
They are not just reacting to a situation but proactively working to ensure that people who might be carrying the virus are safely isolated so that they don't unwittingly spread the virus to other people.
There are heartwarming stories of how airport/ airline officials and health workers are diligently tracking passengers who might have flown in an aircraft taken by a person who later tested positive. I also heard stories of how people have voluntarily isolated themselves even though they didn't show any symptoms of the disease. The social responsibility and dedication that these people have shown are admirable.
Several scientists and doctors are saying that the virus is not going to be exterminated from the face of the earth anytime soon, and people will continue to be at risk. But this highly praiseworthy proactive method of fighting the challenge will definitely mean the number of people who might get infected could be kept to a minimum saving hundreds of lives in India and the world at large.