COVID-19 in Pakistan- Tuning out the noise

We've officially crossed 90,000. Modelers think we might be in the millions.

Heres an experiment, join the Facebook Group 'Corona Recovered Warriors!', a group thats doing wonders arranging plasma for patients affected by Covid-19. Type ‘bump’ to help each post get better visibility. From personal experience I can tell you- it WILL be exhausting. Or maybe my own reserve is questionable. So try it out yourself? Posts are pouring in by the dozens each day (especially people in Lahore and Karachi). Just avoid bumping posts that require information urgently or you risk drowning out critical information.

So this is you typing just four letters (B-U-M-P) multiple times a day and it tires you out. Now imagine taking a shot at the people working tirelessly on the frontline as foot-soldiers. If we can’t help out directly, I think not adding to their insane workload would be a half-decent thing to do.

Here is a series of thoughts I was able to gather from my facebook timeline, watsapp groups, conversations with friends etc. Zaroorat se zyada hero hain jinko madad nahi karni, bahaanay leken zaroor bananay hain. Confident that this is a microcosm and representative of the awaam.

Commonplace statements:

1) ‘Yeh toh hona hi hai sabko’

You’re probably right. The virus will affect a LOT of people. However, it does NOT have to affect people at this rate. From what we know Ro (R-naught) needs to be brought below 1 for the virus to fizzle out.

How? Social distancing, precautions and using your best judgement to ascertain what really is 'essential'. Your urge to jump in a car with 4 friends can wait, Karen. You attempt to stave off bring infected as much as is possible to a time where medical supplies, hospital beds, outsourced caregivers and medical personnel have time to be replenished.

Do your part to slow it down.

2) Yeh saazish hai hum mai chipppain daalne ki

If I was you, I wouldn’t care. The genesis of the virus should have no bearing on your preparation. You, the individual in the virus’s path, have a responsibility to keep it away from yourself as well as people around you. So be cautions AND conscious. Virus china kay labs se aaya hou ya Bill gates nay courier karwaya ho, it wouldn’t matter if you (and I really hope you do) accept it is real.

Err on the side of caution and keep buying time.

3) Media exaggerate kar raha hai/ Soobai gormint humein bewakoof bana rahi hai:

Toh doosray sooboun mai kya chal raha hai? You think the government is paying doctors, the media is inflating figures etc? Maybe. I’m not sure. It does NOT matter. Its not an availability bias either. It could be 40,000 cases, 90,000 case or 650,000. It’s a reality and that’s what matters for me to be careful. Many people I know started off with ‘Yaar tu aik bhi banda jaanta hai jisko hua hai?’ I think we’re well past that now.

It is improbable for bureaucracies to sustain such a lie on this scale in such times. Too many people with similar trajectory of symptoms for you to be putting it on pre-monsoon flu or allergy or doctors with some hidden agenda falsely categorizing you as a covid patient. Yes the test you have right now isn’t the most accurate and there will be both false positives AND false negatives. We get it. But thats what you have to live with, for now.

Fix your lens a little and you’ll see better.

4) Deaths toh zyada nahi hueen. What is all the fuss about?

This is a LOT to unpack but here goes. Why must death be your ONLY metric? The recovery for a LOT of people who show symptoms is replete with a LOT of anguish not just for themselves but for their caregivers. I would want people I care about to not go through that either. And for those that require hospitalization or ventilators (read a little about how that feels), it’s a horrible experience. You’re going to bleed money you might not have and you will likely have GREAT difficulty finding beds because people are being ignorant right now.

Don’t be too stuck on JUST death as a metric. Ye aapki monthly sales ki figure nahi hai.

5) Itna khaayal rakh kar bhi hogaya

Mujhe hojaye, and i understand honay ki possiblity bhi hai and critical honay ki bhi. Just if i do get it, don't be THAT guy who thinks 'itna karke bhi isko hogaya, sab qismat mai hai', 'faith ka saara game hai bro'. THIS brand of faith leads us to draw an arbitrary line in the sand. One that is drawn the moment we need an excuse to go ahead and do what mildly discomforts us.. like 'not meeting your friends for 2 weeks *facepalm*. May your faith keep you calm and give you the strength you need to make difficult choices.

Seems a suitable and noble use, does it not?

Heres what you can read to be better prepared:

? Survivors guide to COVID-19: https://images.dawn.com/news/1185342

? Preventing the spread of Coronavirus:https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/preventing-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus

? Role of nutrition and supplements: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2020/04/01/ask-the-expert-the-role-of-diet-and-nutritional-supplements-during-covid-19/

? Taking care of your mental health: Follow Relivenow, Sehatkahaani to consult therapists online.

Happy to make edits if there are factual inaccuracies and as updates come in.

Stay Safe!