COVID19 - NEVER LOSE HOPE.

Hope is never so lost that it cant be found. (Ernest Hemingway.)

Governments have imposed a lock down situation in their countries to reduce the impact of corona virus. People are afraid and terrified about the future of the world. They are concerned about the treatment and after effects of disease. Panic is at peak at this time. There is some good news as well with the bad ones. So, take a calm breath and I am going to write about the optimistic side of Covid-19 updates.

It was started in Wuhan city of China in December 2019. Government of China took it seriously and took strong measures to control it. Lockdown was started from Wuhan and then to the whole province of Hubie. Good thing was that China did not lock down the whole country and managed to deal with it successfully. Hospital with 1000 beds was constructed in 6 to 7 days in an emergency. Currently there has not been a single case reported in recent days. China has third highest deaths after Italy according to recent reports.. Patients are recovering and few deaths are being reported. This is a sign of relief that the country has managed to control where it started. Italy is facing the worst situation right now as deaths are more than 6600 and affected people are approximately 40,000 according to international media. But the good news is that the rate of growth is declining. Along with Italy, other countries like Spain, USA, UK and Iran are facing high levels of casualties on a daily basis.We also have examples of South Korea, Saudi Arabia, German and Russia. These countries have taken very strong precautionary measures to control it.

People are terrified due to lock down situations in their countries. They worried about the duration of lock down and how they would manage their livelihood. We have the best example of China which has managed in four months. This shows us that better management can eradicate the problem in three to four months but it also depends on the financial condition and health infrastructure of the country.

Coronavirus is a short term virus which disturbs the immune system of the human. If a person has a strong immunity system then he/she can manage to survive against it. It affects mostly aged people, patients who have diseases like cancer, aids, diabetes etc and babies. So we should not worry about it. It cannot kill all the population. 80% of the people can survive, 14% show symptoms but can recover with better health care facilities and 6% are in great danger from which 50% can also survive. If we calculate the death rate due to corona over the whole population, it is a very small percentage as compared to the population 1.38 billion. So, it is clear it is affecting a small number of the population. There is a hype in the media about deaths. If we look at the number of deaths due to influenza, these are also in large numbers. According to the Washington Post, 46,000 people died in the United States of America since October 2019 and total deaths due to coronavirus are 20,000 since December. So there is very less difference between casualties of both viruses. This does not mean it is not a deadly virus, it means it can be controlled by the right measures at the right time.

Global community is joining hands to make a joint effort against the pandemic. WHO has been continuously providing guidelines and in contact with Governments on this issue. There is only one solution to this problem at national level which is more and more testing. The more you test , the more you get corona patients at the right time for right treatment. Germany has done the same, it started testing on a large scale and controlled the movement of people in the country. Neighboring countries are also helping each other to reduce the burden. Today China has sent a plane to Pakistan with medical kits, masks and other equipment. UAE sent help in Iran, Saudi Arabia sent help in Yemen and China is in contact with Indian authorities for help. International financial institutions like IMF, ASDB and World Bank have also come in front to release funds for developing countries to meet their economic challenges and to procure medical equipment for patients.

Lock down situation has also improved the environment of the earth planet. Now roads are less crowded, vehicles are not in huge quantities and factories are closed. It has reduced carbon emission all over the world. According to BBC news CO2 emission is decreasing rapidly on a daily basis. We can reduce the air noise and water pollution by changing our daily routines. We can also improve the quality of life.

In the end we should follow the guidelines of WHO and maintain the social distance to protect ourselves from this virus. We should not panic and keep ourselves motivated. Lots of good news is coming and we will be free from coronavirus very soon.

Some guidelines to successfully manage the corona outbreak are as follows.

Individual Level:

●     Wash hands regularly after 1 hour.

●     Sanitize the hands and equipment you use.

●     Drink semi hot water.

●     Maintain social distancing.

●     Do not panic.

●     Do not shake hands and hug any person.

●     Use mask if you have flu

●     Use lemon, vitamin C, vitamin D, fruits, Juices and vegetables to improve the immunity.

Government Level:

●     Aggressive testing at government level.

●     Passive Immunization

●     Use standardized kits for corona doctors and nurses.