Point of view: Are we giving up on the pathogen?
In the months of March and April, when China was bang in the middle of its battle against Coronavirus, the rest of the world appeared decisively getting ready for the pathogen. Battle readiness of major countries ticked right on all the boxes — airports were being shut down, borders were sealed, field hospitals sprang up in major cities, nations ramped up health infrastructure and imposed draconian curfews. The disease struck major capitals of the world like a tsunami, crippling systems and killing people in rich nations, including Italy, Spain, France, Germany, UK and later the US.
Numbers of positive cases rose sharply and deaths mounted alarmingly. The world watched in horror as media flashed images of dying men and women in the ICUs of western capitals. We saw mass graves being dug up in New York and Sao Paulo as funeral homes in Italy and Spain struggled to cope up high number of bodies. Still, governments, municipal officials, top doctors and epidemiologists sounded confident and acted decisively to protect their populations. Well calibrated actions were taken — much needed health equipment were sourced, relief was dispatched, trillions of dollars were
injected in economies to counter effects of lockdowns. The pathogen was brutal and getting stronger but the world was determined to crush it.
What has changed?
Today, that determination seems to be wavering. The total number of positive cases has crossed 7.3 million and over 414,000 have died. It is true that the infection rate and deaths have slowed down in Europe but the infection is rising elsewhere. Officials have sounded a warning about a surge in US after people came out in large numbers during the Memorial Day weekend. Last week, the WHO said the coronavirus situation is “worsening globally”. Similarly, numbers are growing rapidly in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Today, the governments appear less sure of defeating the pandemic. The messaging is convoluted and people are confused. The governments seem to be telling people: “We have done our bit, now you are on your own”. And people are asking: “When numbers are rising then why lockdowns are being lifted.” The argument that saving livelihood is equally important sounds less convincing in the absence of concrete efforts to face this round of surge. A vaccine is months or years away; doctors are still experimenting with treatment protocols and people are getting tired of preventive restrictions. What next is a big question before the global community and we need definitive answers.
10,000 new cases reported in India in just 24 hours this week