The sudden spurt in the number of Covid-19 cases in India is not any reason for alarm. This is simply the result of test-track and treatment strategy adopted by the authorities. Given the size and population of India in the coming few months, this number may swell further and take India to the top of Covid-19 list replacing United States (US). Even then the situation cannot be termed alarming, if death rate in India remains around 2.3 percent, which is much lower than the global average. The global average is above four. At the same time, India’s recovery rate has climbed to 63 percent. Indications show that this rate may go further up in coming days and in comparative terms will bring down the death rate. So, it can be argued that even without a vaccine, India has managed to keep this lethal virus under relative check, which is no mean achievement.
So far, whatever India has managed to achieve, credit should go to the country’s medical fraternity. The manner in which the fraternity combated against the virus is praiseworthy, to say the least. Nothing was known about the virus. Countries like China and Italy were not in a position to help as both countries wore a devastated look and had struggled with the outbreak of the virus. Indian scientists and medical practitioners thus had to start from scratch to combat Covid-19. During the last five months, they never lost focus and treated each and every patient with diligence. Even a layman would understand the complexity of the task to treat patients suffering from a communicable disease without knowing the nature of the virus and with lack of proper medicines. Kudos to those who managed to make the impossible possible. No word is sufficient to express our gratitude to them.
But the battle is still not over yet, we still have two difficult tasks to perform. The foremost objective should be that Covid-19 be not allowed to take any more lives and secondly, the worldwide economy needs to be put back on the rails. Preventing coronavirus infection will become meaningless if a derailed economy continues to cause deaths. Similarly, a healthy economy means nothing if it fails to combat the pandemic successfully. One should not forget that along with loss of human lives, Covid-19 has caused huge damage to economies worldwide. It should be revived to its original health. But the task is not an easy one. For the revival of the economy, all restrictions should be first lifted. Therein lies the danger of being attacked again by the virus. Such incidents have taken place since the unlocking process has started and here, the people have a crucial role to play. It has now been proven that by maintaining simple hygiene, coronavirus can be tamed. Safety measures such as social distancing, wearing masks must be made mandatory till the time a vaccine is made available. As prolonged lockdown is not a feasible solution, people will have to religiously follow these measures to keep the virus at bay. Remember, a vigilant society is always an added strength. If the medical fraternity and the society together combat this deadly virus, victory is almost a certainty.
