Note:This was broadcast on the ESD service of AIR on 30 th March 2020
The world is in the grip of a pandemic caused by the novel Corona Virus or COVID-19.Though there are a number of diseases like polio,measles,flu and the common cold caused by viruses, problems arise when the body encounters a virus it has not seen before. Corona Virus is one such instance. There are three reasons why it is dangerous.Firstly it is a respiratory disease that spreads from one person to the next. Secondly our body has no natural immunity to this virus, there are no vaccines for it and no pharmaceutical products have yet been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of COVID-19. Thirdly for some of the infected people, the disease can be fatal.
The symptoms of having been infected with this virus are almost like flu. This may include high fever,a dry cough and exhaustion. There may be body aches,shortness of breath ,muscle and joint pain, sore throat, headache and sometimes diarrhoea. It appears to affect the elderly more and those with a pre existing medical condition like hypertension, diabetes, heart ailments, lung disease or suppressed immunity.
The disease spreads largely through droplets that are emitted when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes. These droplets hang on to surfaces like someone’s hands, doorknobs, rails etc and when you touch them they get transferred to your hand and then reach your lungs when you touch your mouth or face. Therefore to prevent spread of this disease a number of precautions have to be taken. One is washing hands with soap and water thoroughly or with an alcohol based sanitiser. Then we should also avoid touching our face with our hands. The most important way to prevent spread of this virus is “social Distancing”. A safe distance from people is about three to six feet. One should avoid crowds so that there is no physical contact. Greet people with Namaste or adab or just a verbal greeting instead of shaking hands.
Many countries of the world including India are now in a state of lockdown. This has been done to ensure that there is no physical contact between people and the spread of the virus is contained. People have been asked to stay indoors and all schools, colleges and a large number of offices and institutions have been closed.
During this lockdown period when we are required to stay in our homes and not venture out a number of situations may arise. When venturing out people should stand at a safe distance from each other. There is no cause for panic if precautions are taken. At home children will be restless. They need to be kept busy. Everyone in the family will have to take on responsibility of household chores as house- helps may not be able to come. In an enclosed space tempers may rise. Keep cool,keep calm. Watching the television, playing board games, learning new skills from each other or the internet are good ways to pass the time.Listen to the radio esp All India Radio which has some of the most educative and informative programmes on air. Go back to the ways older generation used to keep themselves busy with story telling or playing Antakshari.
The government has taken steps to make life smoother for the citizens by arranging for food and vegetable supplies. Chemists shops and other essential goods shops like groceries and home delivery of food are still open.With active help from all its citizens Let us hope that this lockdown will help us fight the pandemic and India will be able to contain and control it.
