Corona 2019
Earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, droughts or flood, tornado or forest fires and avalanches or tsunamis, all bring a kind of havoc or the other for the mankind. And, so is the case with the outbreak of the mammoth epidemics like the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) in 2012 or the novel Corona Virus 2019. As per an estimate of World Health Organization (WHO), SARS resulted into a total death of 774 people from 8,098 affected people worldwide (www.cdc.gov). The MERS-CoV caused 858 deaths worldwide out of 2494 infected cases (www.who.int), most of the deaths (more than 80%) happened to be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Now, the world is experiencing the worst of it in the form of novel Corona Virus which emerged from the Wuhan city of China and spread across more than hundred countries of the world. The figure of the reported cases has crossed a mark of 1,30,000 with more than 4900 deaths worldwide. Among the affected nations, China, Italy, Iran and South Korea hold the first four positions respectively (www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). The contribution of Chinese economy to the global GDP now is a good reason to understand the higher magnitude of this outbreak in relation to its predecessor SARS-2003(www.hbr.org). At the time of SARS roughly seventeen-eighteen years back, China contributed just 4.31% to the global GDP which is now around 16%. It is daunting every aspect of human life across the globe.
Corona…Corona….Corona….wherever you go, one is primarily looked at the Corona way. People have changed the way they would usually meet or greet each other. There is an awe around if someone sneezes. So, what the hell is this which has scared us so much. Let us understand it in simpler words. Coronaviruses (CoV) have a large family of viruses having members like MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV or a novel coronavirus (nCoV) etc. Being zoonotic in nature, they are transmitted between animals and people. Certain past instances (SARS-CoV- from civet cats or MERS-CoV from dromedary camels) corroborate this fact.
Respiratory symptoms, fever, tiredness, dry cough, nasal congestion and breathing difficulties at the best and pneumonia and severe acute respiratory syndrome at the worst may indicate the need for one to be examined for this plague. Having a close contact with and a company of infected ones as (s)h may exhale droplets, or moving the hands over mouth/nose/eyes after touching the infected objects or surfaces, may drag one into this nightmare. Depending upon the nature of surface/object and the surrounding conditions, it may sustain on a surface/object for hours duration to the days-time. As per the estimates of WHO, the incubation period (manifestation time) for COVID-19 is 1-14 days. In the absence of any specifically recommended antidote till now, regular hand washing with soap/alcohol-based hand rub, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, avoiding close contacts (less than that of three feet) particularly with doubtful/infected ones, maintaining proper hygiene, and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs is all that may be advised. These measures reduce the risk but still don’t offer 100% guarantee against Covid-19. For instance, tiny viral particles (aerosols) can penetrate even the masks also. Besides this, smoking, covering your face with multiple masks/veils or resorting to antibiotics don’t provide any respite from Covid-19 at all. Follow these pieces of advice strictly, if you are already suffering with some kind of chronic ailment or finding any of these symptoms in you or you are a senior citizen.
Having mentioned the nature, symptoms, and precautions, lets have a look about the current scenario as the WHO has already declared it yesterday as a pandemic. Till now, a total of 4950 deaths out of 133,181 infected cases have been reported across the globe. Most of the deaths have been reported from china (3169), followed by Italy (1,016), and Iran (429). The report that out of the total figure, 68898 cases have successfully recuperated, is no lesser than a sigh of relief (www.worldometer.info). This is the statistics about the loss of comfort or lives only caused by Covid-19 across the globe. The bizarre and terrible impacts it had and may further have on the global supply chains (global economies) is yet to be imagined.