The year
2020 had started off with a bang. On the official front... so many new projects were lined up. And, in the personal front... well, i was hoping for some good news. (Lets not jinx it yet!)
Its been more than 2 years now since i wrote last blog. Infact its been more than 2 years since i wrote anything at all. I guess its been years since i read anything as well. Where did all those time go? What was I doing? I have no idea because my life seems just the same. I am just the same. Or, am I? Its more like the life has hit a pause button!
But the world... Our world, as we knew it, is not the same now and it may never be same again!!
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is the name on everyone's lips now. A terror, a concern slowly becoming a way of life. The PANDEMIC, declared by WHO on 11th March 2020.
Now, what is a pandemic? Had heard of epidemic (thanks to so many movies!!). But a pandemic... It was a new term for the likes of me, i am sure!
Merriam-Webster: "An epidemic is an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time. A pandemic is a kind of epidemic: one which has spread across a wider geographic range than an epidemic, and which has affected a significant portion of the population."
And...
"The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have been confirmed in large number of countries due to which the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11.03.2020 has characterized COVID-19 as pandemic."
Out of the blue, the whole world is shut down. Even in January 2020 this was not foreseen when the first case had come in kerala. She was isolated and we slept peacefully. But then more and more cases were found in people returning from abroad. Even then we slept peacefully. It was just them and they were quarantined. But then a few went and broke it... Well, the spread was inevitable!
The symptoms are dry cough, fever and shortness of breath! Like any cold and fever the disease spread through droplets in air and those settled down on surfaces when the infected sneezes or coughs. A mere thoughtless act of sneezing or coughing without covering the face (which i am sure all of us have studied at some point in our school and forgotten conveniently!) was enough to infect near and dear ones! And the dreadful part, there's no medicine yet for the corona infection!
And, before we realised the numbers infected doubled... tripled... Forcing the government to call for a 21-days nationwide lockdown. And all flights and trains public transport were stopped. A timely act!
Lockdown: March 24th to April 14th!
It's 28th April now! The lockdown had to be extended as cases were increasing day by day. The infection took its own time to be evident.
Hence, Lockdown 2.0. 15th April to 3rd May.
Our PM said, "Wherever you are, stay there." 'Stay home save lives' became the mantra! Hygiene became the sudden life saver. Where did all our basic education go, i wonder. Was a pandemic necessary for all of us to realise how important basic hygiene was? Mask has been made mandatory. It would be a 2 way minimal protection but main saver would be social distancing.
A minimum of 6 feet to be maintained between each person. I wonder how easy it would be. But it's not a choice and of course life is never easy. But still in lockdown i see so many people outside on vehicles... on foot... Where do they go and for what? I don't know. I don't understand. Of course a few offices are open with minimum employees but still so many people on the streets and all the time!
Recently had a chat with my uncle in Trivandrum. He is waiting for lockdown to be over so that he could go out. He is over sixty and they are more at risk. But that seems secondary to him. I am sure there are many like him! But I feel so safe inside home and i wonder about all the people who are out on the roads making sure we remain safe... The health workers... The social workers... The police.. always on the lookout so that the lockdown is not broken!! I thank them with all my heart. Truly they are heroes in these trying times. For them i think we should stay at home unless absolutely necessary.
But as the end of lockdown nears i can't stop the fear that tries to invade through my calm mind. Ofcourse panic is not a solution but i cant stop the thoughts.
Is the world safe? Would the world ever be safe again? Can we ever trust the fellow beings again, even the same people we knew once...our neighbours... The guy down the street... The colleague... The team mates? Is this just the starting of something more fierce and terrible that's yet to come? Okay, may be I am over thinking but the year 2020 hadn't been a smooth ride till now.
Guess as for now, our way of life needs a change. I need to hit the resume button of my life and gear up. Who knows, this is just a tip of an iceberg... may be!
