Now that we are facing the pandemic...

The coronavirus has swooped in swiftly, causing devastation and death, and bringing in changes into our lives as we never knew before. As we wade through half-blindly and grapple with the challenges, there are lessons too that we can learn and adapt if we wish to avert such eventualities or address them better, in the future

Conditions are worsening rapidly due to the spread of the coronavirus. The number of persons getting infected and the number of deaths are increasing on a daily basis. We have deliberately not mentioned the numbers here because what we write today will be different tomorrow. This is a pandemic as declared by the WHO. The transfer of the virus from China to the world over has been very quick and dreadful. The biggest victims today are Italy, Spain and the US besides China, and it has also played havoc in France, Germany, Iran and the United Kingdom. It has a horrifying presence in our country too.

Serious consequences

Today (while writing this column) our entire country is under lockdown. It is a curfew-like situation, imposed, not to mitigate a normal law and order problem, but to tame an unknown enemy for which there is no remedial drug or vaccine so far. The side-effect of the coronavirus is a free fall of the economy globally. Even our stock market is in a tizzy. The imposed lockdown will have a serious impact on the economy. Our Prime Minister has said that the first priority is to save the lives of the people and that if it is not controlled today, then the outcome will be catastrophic for a largely populated country like ours.

While constrained to stay at home, it is very natural to reflect on the issues related to this sudden problem. This is a time for introspection. As stated by our beloved late President Abdul Kalam, adversity always presents an opportunity for introspection.

Imbalancing Nature?

What is the cause or the origin of this coronavirus (Covid-19)? Nobody knows the answer at present. Even the WHO has refused to make any speculation. The common-sense guess is that such problems arise when there is an imbalance in the forces of nature. As a country, China appears to be in a hurry to emerge as the most powerful and materially developed country in a short time, even disregarding the forces of naure. The biggest dams in the world have been constructed, hilly terrain and the flow of rivers have been altered. Flora have been destroyed for development and fauna has been compelled to squeeze themselves, and wild animals are killed for their meat. Biologists say that bats are carriers of many germs. The devastation of nature and the consumption of wild meat may be a cause of serious imbalance and the rise of the dreadful virus.

Many are speculating that the cause may also be an evil design to produce the virus in the Wuhan laboratory so as to achieve military superiority through biological weaponry, and the virus is believed to have got leaked while it still is a work-in-progress. If this suspicion is correct, then also it means hurting nature by killing precious human lives.

‘Corporate think-tanks now feel that working from home may be a good idea and it is also cost effective. It saves travelling time and also keeps the employees relaxed while working in a home environment. Till the corona threat ends or even thereafter, working from home may become the new normal’

Indiscriminate robbing

Today, it is Covid-19 and yesterday it was SARS, Ebola, Spanish flu and the Plague. Such pandemics happened in the past and may happen in the future as well. Mankind is both the cause and the victim of such serious problems and the only solution is that we change ourselves. Not only to avoid epidemics or pandemics but also to lessen the chances of natural calamities like droughts, floods or earthquakes.

The powerful are powerless

The coronavirus kills both lives and livelihoods. But there are also some lessons to be learnt, and they may be helpful for the world in future. Today the most powerful country in the world is the United States of America and ironically the biggest victim of the coronavirus. The biggest power of money, military hardware and even a huge galaxy of scientists and their super laboratories have failed to tackle the problem so far. The coronavirus pandemic has defeated our inflated ego.

A good thing out of these bad happenings is that they give us experience. Many countries are under lockdown, and India is in its third phase of lockdown. Lockdown on such a large scale has given us a vastly improved atmosphere. We can feel the clean air. The waters of big rivers have become cleaner. Too many vehicles were causing a lot of pollution. There are fewer deaths happening, but for the deaths caused by corona. There are fewer accidents and suicides. People are living within their family bonds. There is a sharp reduction in matrimonial disputes. Family love requires giving quality time to the family, which during the lockdown, we are compelled to give.

Bitter lessons

Prior to the corona problem, we were too occupied with our careers and the process of money-making, which adversely impacted us and our families. Today, during the lockdown, we are learning some good things that are required for our lives. The lockdown has given us many problems but we cannot deny some subtle advantages. The corona, in a very hard and cruel way, has taught us that we have not been living a good and healthy life.

All of us have read in our childhood that health is wealth. The sad thing is that we hardly practised it. We always worked as if we would probably never fall sick or that death would never come to us. Even at the government level, a small proportion of the GDP was allotted to the healthcare sector. India has almost 60% of its population in the poor and lower-income bracket. Such poor and lower-income people probably have no option but to struggle for daily livelihood. Health to them means going to hospitals only when they are sick. The rich and the middle class have also been more motivated for material up-gradation than for health up-gradation. Corona by its worldwide spread has forced us to think about our health. Corona has shown us how rampant deaths are taking place, and so far we have no viable remedy Corona has also shown us that it is socialist in choosing its victims and that it attacks both the rich and the poor, equally.

Focus on health

It is hoped that both people and the government pay more attention to health in the future. People can do yoga to boost their health and immunity and the good thing about it is that it does not require any money and also it does not take much time. Both the poor and the rich can equally benefit from it. A healthy person can do better in his career and a healthy country remains a happy country.

The time has come to give more emphasis to medical insurance of the citizens. Irrespective of political objectives, all the states should become stakeholders in the Aayushman Bharat Scheme of the central government as it will help the majority of poor people. Both central and state governments have to create more hospitals with better infrastructure, as private hospitals may not be financially accessible to many.

‘China appears to be in a hurry to emerge as the most powerful and materially developed country in a short time, even disregarding the forces of nature. The biggest dams in the world have been constructed, hilly terrain and the flow of rivers have been altered. Flora has been destroyed for development and fauna have been compelled to squeeze themselves, and wild animals are killed for their meat’

No quick exit

Lockdowns cannot be extended for a very long time due to both economic consequences and the personal discomfort of citizens. But the other reality is that the coronavirus may not go away very soon, say at least for a year or two. This deadly virus will stay with us until drugs and vaccines are successfully tested. In the latest research, Harvard Medical School has stated that the coronavirus may stay till mid-2022.

A new normal

In such a situation, we have to devise a new way of living, so as to do our work and also keep corona away. The concept of social-distancing will be pivotal in our new style of living. Going for holidays to crowded cities may have to be abandoned. Domestic holidays may become more popular as compared to foreign holidays. Travelling itself will become suspect as people will like to avoid crowded journeys. There is speculation that airlines may be directed to ensure less crowded flying and if this happens then the airlines will be constrained to increase the ticket price sharply. The high cost will itself be a dampening factor for travelling.

The new style of coexisting with the unknown enemy will also have an impact on our workplaces. During the lockdown, many office staff have been working from their residences and the result has been good. Corporate think-tanks now feel that working from home may be a good idea and it is also cost-effective. It saves travelling time and also keeps the employees relaxed while working in a home environment. Till the corona threat ends or even thereafter, working from home may become the new normal. Similarly, e-learning may also become a new normal in the educational sector. Definitely higher education does not require the physical presence of students unless it is a science practical class in the laboratory. New strategies have to be evolved.

Critical need for funds

Last but not the least, the cost of living and restarting the economy will be very high. We have to arrange for large financial resources. During the initial days of this virus, while imposing the lockdown in the first phase, the government announced schemes to help the poor to the tune of Rs.1.70 lakh crores. Huge money was spent on corona-testing, quarantining and treatments. Today, most of the MSME companies have no cash flow and they may not be in a position to pay even salaries. Further, the number of cases of corona infection is increasing, and hence the governments, both central and state have to invest more in medical infrastructure.

Tax collection at the close of the financial year ending March 2020 was also low as compared to the preceding financial year. In such a situation, arranging big funds by the government will be problematic. The government has announced the creation of the PM Cares fund to seek donations but donations can never be enough. The economy has to be kick-started and needs pumping of huge stimulus. The only way resources can be mobilised is when taxpayers pay tax honestly during these unfortunate times. Deficit financing by printing notes will have bad consequences.