COVID-19 : A NEW PERSPECTIVE by Raghul Baskar

A once-bustling city at the heart of China is now a ghost town, with few people on the streets and drones flying above. Wuhan, China: the epicentre of the new corona virus outbreak, has been under an unprecedented lockdown for the past month. As the corona virus continues to spread around the world, people have begun to wonder:

Could such large city lock downs happen in India ?

Experts say the government does have the power to lock down entire cities. Social distancing is a non-pharmaceutical infection prevention and control intervention implemented to avoid/decrease contact between those who are infected with a disease causing pathogen and those who are not so as to stop or slow down the rate and extent of disease transmission in a community. This eventually leads to decrease in spread, morbidity and mortality due to the disease.

Here is another view of COVID-19 where nature strikes back.

Animals are equally important:

Humans feel they have the right to live alone on Earth but the truth is that they share the planet with animals. A recent report states that after Italy was affected by the corona virus, ships are away from the ocean, river banks are empty and due to this Dolphins are seen on the banks for the first time. Amid the corona virus lock down, dolphins appear in the waterways of Italy.

Dolphins are back in the waterways of Italy due to corona virus

The picture above is really soothing and reminds us of what we have forgotten… We share the planet, not own it!

Venice is the cleanest in the last 60 years:

Another benefit due to the corona virus outbreak is that Venice is now the cleanest it has been in 60 years. With little or no traffic on the canals, due to self-isolation, the sediments have settled at the bottom, thereby making the canals look clearer, beautiful and a better place for sea animals. Now, you can see the canals full of fishes, enjoying nature without any human intervention. Source: Hindustan Times

A similar scenario is seen in India on March 22, 2020, where an appeal of self-isolation or Janta Curfew was made by Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi. Today is the first time in so many years that streets are deserted and you can see the birds chirping even in crowded cities like Mumbai, Delhi and other locations. Air pollution in Delhi has drastically gone down and thanks to Corona Virus for this.

source: The Indian Express

Another major benefit of COVID-19 is that India along with the whole world is learning the importance of hygiene. It’s a clear message for foreign countries that it’s best to follow the practice of being vegetarian, and to keep cleanliness all around. Indian bus terminals and railway stations, where it was impossible to even stand, are now getting time to get back to their original state when the population was less. Since all public transportation is on halt, proper cleaning is going on everywhere in the country which would be impossible otherwise due to overcrowding by a huge population. Source- Tehalka

Spitting is a curse, and is understood for the first time in India, as earlier spitting pan and chewing tobacco was something very casual. States like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar where chewing pan is like a fashion and seeing red corners in every busy place is normal because of spitting, are now changing and realizing it’s a bad habit and need immediate stoppage.

On March 22, 2020, the latest coronavirus update is that it has crossed 300 cases in India, claiming the lives of 4 people and compelled the government to take strict decisions like complete lockdown (Rajasthan and Punjab till 31st March, 2020). Since we are talking about benefits brought by the coronavirus, the advantage of COVID-19 is that we are now realizing how important it is to think above self-interest and help others.

Yes, with self-isolation, people understand that it is equally important to protect themselves and avoid putting the lives of others in danger. Though the concept of “Pedestrian first” is only practicable in European countries’ roads, India now understands how useful this concept is and that it can be implemented here too. Now, people are thinking about the lives of health workers, house maids who otherwise were the most unnoticed people (at least before the Modi Government).

Work from home culture is equally important and is back due to COVID-19. Though, this culture was popular earlier too, like we were offering work from home jobs in India along with other IT companies but now coronavirus has made it mandatory for other companies to keep space for this concept.

Today, big office buildings crowded with office staff are learning from companies like Thoughtful Minds where work from home option was practiced in parallel right from the beginning. These organizations are struggling to create a new work space and are not comfortable since there was no such provision earlier. We understand physical space is important, office infrastructure plays an important role, but good manpower should not be restricted to boundaries. Every organization (if possible) must have an option of work from home, so that in case of specially abled or those who are unable to join office due to a distant location or any reason are able to work from the comforts of their home.

Source: Twitter

COVID-19 has made it very clear that both physical and online presence is equally important for organizations and this can even solve the problem of pollution as when people work at home, there should be less vehicles on the road. Fewer vehicles simply mean less petrol consumption which anyhow is going to help the economy. This is another coronavirus benefit which people must realize when they are keen to know about the latest coronavirus update.

Another point linked to above is that now is the time to make every business online, so as to beat contingencies or emergencies. Yes, every organization now has to go online, no matter what. Matters not how big a brand is physically it has to create an online presence as well. A good example of a company that has benefited from both online and offline presence is- Lenskart. The company first started as an online portal for people to buy spectacles, lenses finds it hard to sell them online. But, instead of dropping the idea, opened physical stores all around! This is the model which every business must adopt not just at the time of coronavirus attack but in general.

Don’t waste Food

Next important benefit is that of understanding how to use limited resources. Yes, with lock-down being announced for a couple of days, we need to understand why effective utilization of resources is a must and why we should not waste resources. You need to manage with the groceries (though essential shops are going to be open) still since it is a lock-down you have to think twice before wasting anything. Thank you coronavirus for this. Source: Livemint

Let us keep everything clean

Finally, the biggest advantage is that it has been made very clear that if you wish to survive you need to keep your immunity strong. Yes, the message is loud, avoid long working hours, stop damaging your organs, stay fit, eliminate wrong eating habits and live and let live. Let’s take a pledge to learn a lot from coronavirus and take oath that next coronavirus update should be… that it is fully controlled and has become neutralized like in China.