500 days of bumpy ride and precious lessons learnt: The pandemic year
I don’t know where to start writing regarding the most challenging year so far. I remember vividly the last happy trip we made with my family and friends before it all began to change. It was a pleasant sunny day with crisp air in mid February when we decided to visit the zoo with our friends and their kids.
We all had absolute fun with the kids ,their excitement soaring high on seeing elephants with their babies and monkeys following us everywhere. We tried few food items from the stalls in the zoo. Our only concern then was if the food prepared was with all hygiene standards in place. Little did we know that a month later we would all be heading out with our faces covered, well , at least most part of it and would find eating from a roadside vendor a distant dream.
By early March, most European countries and some Asian countries had already begun their battle with the virus. It was all so surreal for me initially. I thought viral infections keep happening in different places around the world like the seasonal flu for an example. May be this one will run its course too and die down. Reality hit when our Prime minister announced a complete lockdown for a weekend. We all had an orchestrated candle light vigil to express our solidarity and show we were ready to fight this situation out. I remember thinking this would be a good opportunity to spend quality time with our family without having to step out for any reason. What did I know! This virus was here to stay for much longer .
After a few days when the number of infected cases were going upward at an accelerating pace, after careful consideration, most states started implementing a complete lockdown for extended period of time. There were not to be any movement of people or goods initially. The state borders were heavily guarded to prevent people from crossing over thus containing the spread of infections .
The initial few days were difficult while we were trying to adjust to the new situation. Some didn’t understand the seriousness of this lockdown while some didn’t of masking. Some others were overly proactive and over stocked their pantries and other supplies. Sanitizers were the first ones to go off the shelf. It was as though people stopped using water and started replacing that with sanitizers instead. While most companies managed to accommodate work from home strategies, farmers and daily laborers were affected a lot.
Educational institutions and offices were closed. Children’s parks were totally empty. It was like a scene from the movie Terminator. We felt, the apocalypse was here finally. It was increasingly challenging at many levels for everyone , keeping children engaged productively without schools was one of the top ones. Thanks to the technological advancement ,schools managed to start online sessions. For adults and kids alike, online courses were a boon. I often wonder how the humans survived the great Spanish flu with no phones or internet.
With the lockdown being extended for longer period, the daily laborers, especially ,the migrant ones found it too hard to feed their family. There was a mass exodus of migrants to their hometowns. This in turn fueled the spread of infection. The situation was very bleak.
After few weeks of strict lockdown, the infected cases started dropping down. More people were recovering successfully while some others were not so lucky. Slowly plans were in place to lift the lockdown slowly and steadily. People started slowly stepping out, offices started partially operating and migrants were returning. We could all see hope in the horizon. International flights were operational and people were more relaxed and many started travelling and attending private functions. Some even decided it was above them to be masking always or that they wouldn’t get affected since they had already contracted the virus and some thought they were invincible.
By now it was latter half of 2020.The months were packed with festivals and so were auditoriums with people. The festive spirit was being rejoiced after what felt like ages of being imprisoned and lo and behold, people started getting sick again, this time more gravely. This time even little children were not spared. Apparently the virus had mutated and our country was host to many variants. This time it attacked with a vengeance. The infection was spreading like a forest fire making contact tracing more challenging. People were struggling for what we usually take for granted-oxygen. The over occupied beds in the hospitals pushed many to quarantine at home. Neighbors , friends and in some cases strangers brought relief. We proved that humans could come together for fighting a common problem. The doctors and other medical staff were available for online consultation.
The government did a good job of following up with patients' day to day situation and contact tracing. The vaccination drive was in progress in most places but was happening at a slow pace. Finally the state governments were back to imposing another strict lockdown in order to mitigate this grave situation and also to buy time for vaccine manufacture while keeping the infections at bay, all the while aware of the economic dip that we may have to face.
During this period, the concerned authorities were firing their cylinders to procure vaccines and get most of the population vaccinated. This combination with the strict lockdown brought down the cases significantly .
Hope we don’t take a dive from here. Proper masking, social hygiene, social distancing and vaccination are the only way to fight this and bid good riddance to this abominable virus.