Coronavirua Part 21, Gloom for Many, Extended Run Of Virus, Failed Nation and Economy

              The new normal of working from home is a good time in a few ways and bad time in few other ways. Good time because you can work from the comfort of home, be with your family members all the time, have timely food and every advantage, the home brings to you. There are several reasons for calling it a bad time as well. It has blocked me from working in an office setting, blocked me to function normally by engaging in some meaningful routines or I was unable to find some, led me to the situation where I had to be very creative to navigate a day and finally made me a bad guy in a self-destruction mode. When you are a bad person for an extended period, more than anything, you are self-destroying your own self. Being good is important, being ‘cool’ is important -for you and for everyone else.

              The pandemic has disturbed the normal routines of most of the people and induced pain and suffering. It might be this curse or anything; I am far from leading a normal life. You cannot be normal when millions of others are implicated in the diabolic effects of pandemic. Ask a kid why he has to be house-arrested and stick to the digital screens all the time without any learning in a class. Ask millions of workers who have lost their livelihoods and income due to the slowdown in economy and lockdowns. When so much has been uprooted and disturbed badly, the rest cannot be normal for long without kicking in these maledictions. In my immediate surroundings, schools have been shut and teachers are not receiving salaries, public transport is out and the staff is not entirely paid, business for autos, cabs has been reduced and the poor drivers are clueless, income for priests has been reduced because of less public rituals, all the public places of work are shut and staff are underpaid. The sectors like entertainment, tourism have become obsolete and lakhs of people working in those are not getting paid or suffering silently.

              Many are pleading for jobs and a source of income. The plans of many are shattered and scores of people are just living with their life taken out. The covid-19 is not just about the numbers which are tip of the iceberg. It’s about the major shift to the new ongoing normal which has impacted countless individuals negatively. If not contained, this negative impact will catch up to the rest of the people since humans are not isolated but interdependent. You live a normal life when everyone else is doing well but if there is a major disruption for a prolonged period, there is bound to be a bad time for everyone. Only help and coming to the aid of affected people can save, mitigate the damage.  The silent sufferers need to be identified and they should be provided with the necessities. Then only this curse can be partially escaped. As deduced, this pandemic created a huge vacuum for seva and as many as possible need to pitch in to fill it.

              Coming to the pandemic statistics, there are a total of 272.34 lakh infected cases worldwide and 8.86 lakh people dead. In the past week, 19 lakh new cases came up and 37 thousand passed away. The week has seen more than 19 lakh cases and 37 thousand deaths which is the highest number of cases registered and most number of deaths in a week.  The number of cases and deaths is still reaching the top and the curve looks frightening. U.S., India, Brazil continue to be the major hotspots worldwide. India displaced Brazil to become the second most affected country in the world. The country has regularly topped the charts in daily new cases registered. It is more than three times of daily cases being registered in U.S. and half of cases registered worldwide. The global cases are reaching record highs by virtue of significant contributions from India. If India is excluded, the total cases have hit the downward trajectory. The alarming rise of positive cases in India is puzzling while it is reduced everywhere else.

              With number of cases per million still very low and everything gradually opened up, there is significant chance of seeing the trend continue upward if the spread is not checked by imposing curfew or lockdown. Five states in the country account for 60% of the cases. It is entirely the responsibility of these state governments to control the numbers but they have failed so far. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka are particularly registering very high numbers on a regular basis since long time. These states are struggling to manage the crisis and seem to have left it to destiny. One significant factor which has been noticed is - these states and central government are active in doing every other thing except the crisis management.

              Why are they seemingly giving importance to all other programmes and leaving the covid-19 to the fringes. Why wasn’t a stern, decisive and resolute action being taken on it by giving it the top most priority even after many months? If you think it is nothing but a harmless virus which can be neglected, think otherwise. Keep in mind, the harmless virus has caused the GDP to contract by 25%. While it has to be the best given the urgency shown and everything else, India is the worst performer in the G-20 nations with respect to GDP for June quarter. People like me who worked round the clock feel very bad at this state of affairs. It’s disheartening that the efforts from people like me don’t benefit the country. One ill-conceived and draconian lockdown which yielded nothing has taken a heavy toll. This all signifies, things are not at all going well for India. Topping the virus charts and coming last in GDP numbers are the traits of worst student in the class.

              On the other hand, China is the biggest beneficiary of the pandemic which is the only country to register positive GDP growth and kept zero cases. What a nation and how well it rebounded after Q1 and originating the virus. I will say again, India need to learn the secrets from it with regards to keeping the cases to zero and improving the economy. But what we did instead of humbly learning the tricks of trade. The last student blocked the first student’s apps, software, games etc. Is it the way to become first or remain last? Ask them how to manage a crisis. Ask them how to bounce back. Ask them how to build great apps, games. You need to learn from the leader and implement it for the benefit of our people. But you are high-handed, arrogant despite being last and act with scorn. Moreover, I am vociferous with respect to good relations with China. These acts does not aid in that direction.

             Coming back, economy will not recover if the cases are astronomical. As I said, the new normal has affected the country very badly and a perfect strategy to bring back the older days as quickly as possible has to be the top most priority. Lest, you can pass the time with half-hearted measures and the virus will hijack the country and its economy.