Coronavirus Pandemic continues to baffle scientists
I write this with a heavy heart as I feel a rather sinking feeling within. A sigh, a tear and compassion is all I feel for many who have departed too soon due to COVID-19. May their loved ones find the strength to deal with this as the departed souls move on from the material world.
Rarely ever heard of five members of a family, three members of a family and many couples die all of a sudden in a span of a few days. Leaving behind a complete vacuum which is hard to fill.
Tales of isolation, scramble for ICU beds, fight for oxygen cylinders and cries of anger, violence and suicide. It’s not about the rich and the poor, the haves and have-nots. The virus doesn’t discriminate and even many prominent and well known people have succumbed to the virus as they could not get an oxygen cylinder.
Prominent journalist Barkha Dutt who lost her father S P Dutt to COVID “We didn’t get an ambulance with oxygen so his condition worsened on the way to the hospital. I am angry but how do we fix our broken system?”
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardawaj commenting on Pandit Rajan Mishra death, “ I can’t believe that we lost Pandit Rajan Mishra. How do I absorb the fact that a ventilator bed couldn’t be arranged for him. I mean he was a Padma Bushan Awardee. It is a national horror movie that we are watching live.
Imagine the plight of the common man.
A five year is orphaned as his mother commited suicide on hearing of her husband’ death to COVID. A 18 year old doesn’t know how to pay his house rent as both his parents passed away in the hospital.
Alas, we thought we had got the vaccine and now it was just a matter of time till we all got vaccinated. But, the invisible virus; it seems mutates and continues to cause havoc and spreads too fast before you know what struck you.
Is humanity under crisis? Is it the end of Kalyug as we wait for Satyug. Or nature’s way of showing us our place in the mighty universe. We are just a spec in the mighty Universe of stars, galaxies and planets.
We have begun to plan for our holidays on the moon, and the search for life on Mars goes on. Billions of dollars are being pumped into space research as Man’s quest to reach for the skies continues. But then, here looks like a virus can cause havoc in ways unimaginable. Freedom from diseases with low cost vaccination is a dream for humanity. So, Man Proposes and God disposes.
Just coming up with a vaccine in such a short period of time itself is an achievement for mankind; which shows that science and research have made great progress.
But the visuals… somehow they will stay with us for a long time. Two brothers carrying a mother’s body on a bike for cremation as no one came to help. A man was literally cycling with his wife’s dead body as no one helped him for cremation. A son left his mother on the highway as she complained of breathlessness. He was scared that he might contract the disease. The policeman came to the rescue. Bodies lined up outside morgues and crematoriums….These pictures will stay with us for a long long time. People found dead outside hospitals for shortage of beds. Now, it seems the virus has spread to Tier 3 and 4 villages, where medical facilities are scarce and people are just dying because of breathlessness.
But somehow help arrives from strange places. From policemen, NGOs, religious places of worship and all kinds of strangers who want to help. Remember, we are a community that helps.
Our doctors are tired, exhausted and helpless. They are also at the receiving end sometimes. With many risking their own lives, there’s an extra burden of providing emotional support to many of their patients who cannot meet their families. To quote from the Business Standard newspaper. Kiran Dave, a vascular surgeon in Ahmedabad, said “The number of daily patients is still very high. Until the case surge eases, the situation will be difficult to handle. The health infrastructure needs time to breathe — as do the doctors. “Until that happens, have to brace ourselves for the worst.”
Last year, when WHO declared COVID-19 as an Pandemic, we knew we were gearing up for a `Third World War. War, because the warriors are ready to die for the country.
An anguished Delhi High Court said yesterday, “The State has failed. We all have failed, and state has failed to protect right to life of citizens. They were informed about death of a COVID-19 patient whose family was pleading for an ICU bed for the last three days.
Breakdown of the Health infrastructure. Most of the good hospitals are privately owned and then we all depend on our health Insurance policies. When all this is over, or even now itself time to focus more on Health infrastructure and look at doctor problems.
We need more doctors. And if you take a random survey, not many teenagers want to become doctors as it takes years years of hard work. And even post that life can be pretty tough.
Death – The reality of Life
On a philosophical level, isn’t death the reality of life? Are we ever mentally prepared for it? Though we know that the airplane we board might crash and the car we drive might be hit from behind by a truck anytime. Yet, we go on planning, from childhood to teens and then we are taught to plan for our future, career, family and old age.
Gosh ! If you look at it. Life seems to be very very long and dreary. But it can all be over in just a moment. Let’s hold on to the happy moments. Maybe, that’s the lesson the Virus is here to give us. Let’s take each day at a time and cherish what we have.
To Quote Dr Anthony S Fauci, one of the most trusted voices on COVID from US, who was interviewed exclusively by the New Indian Express…, “The virus has shown that left to its own devices, it can explode in society. The United States was the worst hit country last year and it is the richest country. Though, we were prepared we got hit. The virus doesn’t care how rich you are. If you don’t respect its ability to cause serious damage, you are going to get into trouble.”