11 Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic

 

Let us understand what a Pandemic is. 

According to WHO, pandemic means the ‘worldwide spread of a new disease’.

The word "pandemic" comes from the Greek "pan-", "all" + "demos," "people or population" = "pandemos" = "all the people."

In simple words, any new disease that has spread across a country, continent or around the world can be categorized as pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, and a pandemic on 11 March 2020.

Global Impact of Covid-19 as on 26th May 2021:

As per WHO statistics, Globally, there have been 167,423,479 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,480,480 deaths, reported to WHO.

Such is the widespread impact of this Pandemic.

History:

The last major pandemic is referred to the Spanish Flu of 1918. From January 1918 to December 1920, an estimated 500 million people were infected & approximately 50 million people lost lives.

 

COVID-19 has already sounded a warning – that despite our scientific claims and achievements, we are deeply unprepared to handle a pandemic. Irrespective of the developed, developing & underdeveloped countries, the Virus has hit hard, challenging the humanity. Illness and natural disasters are great equalizers, and they also highlight the disparities in our society.

 

One light of hope is that any pandemic does not anchor itself for eternity; it will die. There is an old saying ‘there is good in every evil’ is a tiny consolation in this difficult time.

But before that, the ‘Corona Effect’ would have changed many aspects of our lives ranging from healthcare to social norms and leave behind a deep economic scar that would take years to heal.

1.We are living beyond our planet’s boundaries: One important lesson learnt is that we are living beyond the natural boundaries by messing up with the nature. For the first time we witnessed in lockdown period of 2020, clear blue skies, breathtakingly fresh air, the chirping of birds, sighting wild animals in urban areas, arrival of dolphins in coastal regions, and even rapid healing of the ozone layer.

It is crazy to expect that a shutdown way of life will be the new normal and nature will get a chance to rejuvenate herself, but it is not crazy to expect that we will seek solutions that ensure simultaneous well-being of the economy and ecology. There was a what’s app message in circulation stating, ‘World is Under Renovation & Grand Opening Soon’

But If we continue our high polluting way, post the COVID-19 crisis, we may end up in greater danger in decades to come.

2.War like preparation required on healthcare front: Future healthcare systems should be war-prepared to battle pandemics whenever they breakout at short notice.  The urban & the town planning to include creation of infrastructure & budget set aside. The infrastructure to be made ready at all cities & towns as a standby. Apart from physical infrastructure, the medical industry to be kept prepared war like.

We have near-complete knowledge on tackling major killers like heart ailments, cancer, lifestyle diseases, AIDS etc., but not a virus.

3. Early warning system: As we have seen in the recent past, good progress across the globe on developing & deploying systems, forewarning the cyclones, typhoon & Tsunami, there is an urgent need to develop early warning system on Pandemic. Unlike in the past, viruses in the 21st century not only are ‘hyperactive’, but also leave their tales of devastation with ‘viral speed’ because of globalization.

4. Social distancing: Social distancing should become a norm, part of our regular habits. When a new virus comes knocking, there should be a self-imposed social distancing to break the chain.

5. Hygiene & cleanliness: In the name of economic progress & development, the towns & cities are turning out tons of garbage that are polluting the streams & rivers. The carbon emission from the ever-increasing vehicular population is causing global warming by depleting the ozone layer. The towns & cities need to be cleaner.

If any old lesson came handy during the COVID-19 crisis it was that hygiene helps. We have all been taught to wash our hands every time we return home from outside and from time to time as a good measure. Yet, if the upward graph of soap sales during the crisis is any indication, it was as if we were discovering the value of washing hands for the first time!

6. Clear medical guidelines for vulnerable section: A Guideline for elderly and patients with comorbidity- who are at greater risk should be in place and in practice

7. Drug & Vaccine development: There is a need to strengthen the R & D in this sector & develop a well planned & structured policy & mechanism for vaccination. One important aspect that has surfaced is lack of infrastructure to vaccinate the entire population in shortest possible time. The cold storage, transport to the last mile & ready trained manpower to administer vaccination. But one worth mentioning aspect of Digital Technology at use -The Aarogya setu & Cowin apps to monitor the data at national level.

8. We really don’t need much to live: Many of us have experienced a nearly overnight lockdown at some point and may even today still be facing tough restrictions. We have lived through a lockdown. The availability of food, water, shelter, communication, medicines and education and entertainment on television & the internet has kept us going. The lockdown has forced us to ask what we really need to live reasonably well. And the answer in most cases is – not too much. We can live without splurging on shopping, spending weekends in malls & multiplexes. While physiological and security needs have been paramount, many have found ways to learn new skills or do things they have always wanted to do but could not make time for. Families and friends have engaged over video calls and many have “met” members of their family more often during the lockdown than they otherwise do! Despite the lockdown we have discovered that we can satisfy all needs in Maslow’s hierarchy. (Those needs are physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs). Many have learnt what really matters to them. Yet the chances of this learning being jettisoned as we return to the daily grind of yore is very high indeed.

 9. Telecommuting & remote working: Though the BPO & some IT companies adopted this over the years, yet many traditional industries & businesses thought of a no possibility & hesitated to adopt this despite skyrocketing real estate prices & the problems associated with. Now that the lockdown has forced every company in every industry to rely on telecommuting to keep things going, it is quite clear that a lot can be done while working from home! This is the time to explore the values of remote working and physical presence and make a significant transition. Work can be done more productively wherever this is possible enabling social distancing. The internet & platforms like Skype, Zoom & MS teams have been very popular & the strong 4G/5G internet has come handy. We befriended technology & there is no going back.

 10.People first, economy later: Sooner than later the Governments all over the world realized that people to be safe first. To see people first or economy first as a dilemma is to be penny-wise, pound foolish; for without a healthy population there can be no healthy economy. The resources had to be invested in overcoming the pandemic with the least number of casualties first; so that post the crisis, with fiscal measures in place, healthy people could make the economy buoyant. The governments all over should think & device strategies to set apart pandemic fund in every budget. This will not tax the economy greatly in case a pandemic strike in future. Today we save the people, tomorrow the people come together to save the economy.

11. Humans are adaptive, and life is more flexible than we think: The pandemic has been a time of extraordinary change, and we have had to rapidly change and adapt to the evolving situation. Many individuals have lost jobs and have been forced to find creative ways to feed their families. Many others began working from home. Schools turned online with virtual learning. Many physicians started offering telemedicine. The neighbourhood shops learnt home delivery to keep business going. This pandemic has been a testament to just how resilient we are as humans and our ability to be flexible and creative in the face of uncertainty.

 

To conclude, for better or worse, the pandemic has changed us.  It has reinforced the reality that anything can happen at a moment’s notice. This extraordinary circumstance has changed our perspectives on health, family, work, finance, resilience, and the community, and it has truly provided the gift of life lessons.

But as we have seen, the human memory is short & soon after the pandemic there is every possibility of, we returning to old habits.

Anil Tadmari