Eyewash is the single largest reason for Community Spread.

I read a very well written article on Facebook (yes, even silly old Fb can throw up points to ponder) that very factually trashed the global panic for essentially another version of the Flu. It glorified Sweden. And demanded more from global governments. And inspired this write.

Enough has been written and a million times more has been vocalised on whatsapp groups and phone calls between close friends. One would assume that the collective expertise out there should be enough to save oneself. And yet the spread continues. And while people are not dying in glamorous numbers that justify the term pandemic, people are dying. Old people. Sick people. People without friends and relatives who have the ability to 'make that phone call'. Knee jerk reaction though is on an all time high. And everyone is touting the line:"Lockdown relaxation will lead to a rise in numbers". In fact the Lockdown has now been niftily rebranded as well.

These stories are going to keep rolling in and are any half-decent satirists dream fodder machine. But what do we do? Let me be clearer. Having fully understood the meaning of the term Jugaad, here's what i need to keep in mind to keep my surroundings safe in the light of old name Lockdown 5.0 new name Unlock 1.0 :

1) Analyse the very documentation i'm asking for: My office is collecting contact history data from all staff. And then neatly filing it. i should get my team to segregate that information based on risk and allow only low risk or no risk people back to work.

2) Thermal guns are not the solution: And i need to tell the people using them that they're not as accurate as even regular thermometers and even then having a high temperature is just one of the symptoms for COVID19. i need to explain to people that these thermal guns are just one of the easy ways to catch something but are far from foolproof.

3) Switch to reusable masks: Disposable masks have served their purpose. Masks are here to stay and i need to switch to something simple and practical and environment friendly. Masks are like helmets. The sensible know where to use it. The design conscious have a gazillion variants. There are some for specialists. There are some which are useless. And there are some that are harmful. But we are yet to see disposable helmets. So let's switch... oops, i mean, let me switch to reusable masks- and not just for my Fb DP ;)

4) Sustainable Safety: I went the whole hog and washed everything and sanitized everything and showered every time i saw the poor Swiggy guy from my window on the 13th floor. Now i go to work and come back and wash my hands after eating. That's just me being a lazy, laid back, overconfident moron. But that's not illegal and is acceptable as long as i live alone and don't put anyone at risk. Else i should follow some basic measures and at the very least just WASH MY HANDS! There is no point memorizing the life span of the virus on surfaces ranging from cardboard to titanium and then slacking off just because the routine is boring.

5) Keep your hands to yourself : Good advice on any day. Best advise now. A leading cardiologist keeps mentioning how he has never caught a cold in over a decade because he never lets his hands touch his face. In the absence of such self discipline, i should at least make sure i don't shake hands, or randomly touch rails and surfaces in public spaces. No point wearing a mask and then pulling it down to pick your nose - a disturbing visual in the best of times.

6) Educate: Sigh. Education is a challenge. Education takes time and conviction. It requires winning the respect of the person listening. Or at least their grudging acknowledgement that you know something. It can't be done as a mass dump of beautifully designed pdfs into the company portal. i need to take the time to explain to my staff what the risks are. i need to do it repeatedly. i need to do it till i believe they have got it and will not remove their masks when i'm not looking, or not wash their hands when there are no cameras. i need to reach out to the families sending their loved ones in and convince them not to lie on the forms, not to take medication and cheat the system, not to follow the rules to the letter but to understand the thinking behind it. Wow, that's sounds like an impossible task. Or is that so only because we really have thrown the word education around too casually and equate it to a piece of paper or a bank account? Education is the responsibility of those who want it: be it parents or employers.

7) Empathise: Different people have different beliefs. Some believe in natural medicine. Some believe in being paranoid. Some believe in living by the rules and nothing else. Some are able to deal with things they don't understand just by being brash and fearless. i can't expect all of them to think like me. i have to understand people's lives and their fears. i have to decide who's lives are being impacted by the policies i enforce. i may have to do more for my employees than my parents or grandparents or other successful business colleagues ever did. But, to use a term i have successfully avoided till now, these are covid times. And some things are unavoidable. I see it as an opportunity to correct what was the norm and to be a better employer. And a better employee. Thankfully i'm both.

8) Take responsibility: People want to know when it will be safe to send their children out to play, when they can send them for sleepovers, and of course, when it will be safe to send them to school. i will send my child out when i know i can deal with the consequences. I will not send my child out and then blame the school or the government or my second aunt's third cousin's whatsapp forward. And that is the way. i am responsible for looking after my personal health and not exposing myself to risk factors like crowded spaces, unhygienic practices, and people with symptoms. If i do for some unavoidable reason, it's on me. i need to sanitize and be safe for my well-being and that of my family. That's what the back to work documents say. i need to read that, and take that seriously.

9) Read the fine print: Ok. There is literally no way to read the fine print every single time. But we can do it before we decide to feel cheated. Very often we have skipped paying attention to what people or organisations are saying because we are in a hurry. We sign all kinds of disclaimers all the time because we are broadly aware of the risks and feel it can't happen to us. Injustice must be challenged. But lets choose our brushes with care lest we paint the innocent.

Processes exist for a reason and we need to respect that. One of the best things about COVID19, and there are several, is that tokenism can kill!

Have a positive Unlock1.0.

And thank you for making it till the end.

PS: Is there something here that rankles? That's inaccurate? Or is misleading? I apologise in advance and will be more than happy to correct myself. Please comment here or abuse me on twitter @evilemperorzeb