COVID-19: The Pandemic

The world has been battling through pandemic diseases from the early years of 160 AD, in the form of the first emergence of Plague; which came back for the third time in the 1300s, that time, even more deadly, killing around 200 million people and was named “The Black Death”.

In the current scenario, the world is all over again going through a pandemic influenza known as the “Corona Virus” which has been named as “Covid-19” by the World Health Organisation, elaboration of which is “COrona VIrus Disease 2019”.

Corona virus is not just one particular virus, but a family of viruses, and Covid-19 is one of them. The source of the virus as of now is believed to be a “wet market” in Wuhan, China which sold both dead and live animals.

On its current trajectory, the disease is found to affect more than 120 countries as of now, affecting more and more people by every passing day and could continue further, drastically, if not controlled. The death toll has already reached to more than 6,400 and the numbers have only been multiplying for the past 15-20 days.

As the disease is spread through any sort of physical contact, it is humanly impossible to get the exact number of people it would affect if one person catches the virus and does not realize on time. Due to such a panic all over the world, the globe has gone to a standstill. Every country is almost on a complete shutdown with no schools, institutions, colleges, public entertainment systems running and major companies in countries like China, South Korea and Italy also observing a lock-down. The effect of the disease is far beyond what we can imagine and has thrown every person in a self-quarantining position.

The effects of Corona Virus are going to last longer than we can contemplate and in the following ways:

•  The market (especially the entertainment sector) world over is going to witness a severe downfall in their sales and production capacity during this pandemic.
• The stock market is also going to see a major drop, one of the worsts since 2008 in the market prices, which will negatively affect the shareholders.
• China’s battery market, which is one of the largest, is going to get hammered in the long run. The prices have already gone down by 60%.
• The functioning of the lung will be damaged even after the person recovers from the corona virus disease. Through doctor’s reports, the lungs’ function can be reduced by up to 30% for the affected people.
• The immunity system of people will be lowered once they are attacked by this virus. They are most likely to be the first people to be prone to the virus again if at all it ever comes back.
• Higher education abroad is going to be severely affected. People will now resist sending their kids out of the country to study, especially to places like China, South Korea and Italy where the cases have been considerably large. People have already started taking their registrations back from foreign higher education universities, especially China.
•  Budget crises on the state budgets of the government that brings about a deep, long-term recession, will have an effect on the economic growth of the countries, and the world as a whole. Global Economic slowdown is not a far vested phenomenon anymore.
• Major downfall in tourism all across the globe.
• Supply chain disruptions.
• Real estate market is going to face a backlash too with a drop in hotel occupancy, people working/studying abroad going back to their home country, cancellation of large sporting events, etc.
•  Investments, expansions, and new hiring will observe a halt too.
• E-commerce business will however flourish as people will now prefer shopping online rather than getting out of their houses to crowded places.
• Import industry will face an output degradation world over.
• Falling interest rates will make financing and new acquisitions an attractive deal to look for.
• Unemployment will rise further due to major shutdowns of company plants globally.

The severity of the situation is totally visible with the gymnasiums and spas shutting down, entire malls getting sanitized multiple times a day, operations of nightclubs and theaters being suspended, all institutions shut, weekly bazaars temporarily closed, and large public gatherings being restricted; this epidemic is surely the first of its kind in the 21st century. Most of us have never experienced or seen anything of this sort in any part of the world, but coming across such a situation prevailing in the entire world is absolutely an area of major concern and threat.

In between all the chaos, the panic stricken public has been facing a very disturbed head space for over a month now. People are scared to get out, their daily work routine has come to rest, productivity has majorly fallen and most lives are facing a dead stop. But the least all of us can do now is not to panic at all, and just take a few safety measures that could help us stay away from the death-dealing virus.

Few things to do on a regular basis, multiple times, every day:

•  Avoid public transport for at least 2 months from now.
• Wash/sanitize your hands every 15 minutes.
• Drink hot water throughout the day.
• Avoid public gathering as much as possible.
• Make the best use of your productivity indoors, this is the time when you get to rejuvenate the person in you and focus on your leisure pursuits that you could not do otherwise.
• The virus is grounded, so make sure to wash/sanitize your hands every time you touch a surface, especially outdoors.
• Avoid junk for as long as you can, at least for a month.
• Work on your immune system by having a diet comprising of fruits and vegetables, take vitamin C supplements, get adequate sleep, avoid smoking completely, and try minimizing your stress levels.
• Avoid close physical contact with people, especially strangers.

Nevertheless, the virus is surely dangerous but not as lethal as the other flu and respiratory influenza that the world has witnessed before Covid-19. If we could fight that, we can surely fight this! The technology has seen a great improvement over the years and our medical sciences sector is reliable enough during this pandemic, and we should all have our faiths intact that they will soon come out with the cure of the virus that has put the entire world on a hiatus.