Wednesday, January 19, 2022

The Covidified world

Every time we hear of more infections, hospitalisations and deaths owing to Covid, there is an involuntary exclamation of resignation: how long will this agony last?

When I say it's going to be around for some time, I am branded as a pessimist, and sometimes worse, a doomsayer! I am neither. I only wonder how the virus can just vanish in a few weeks or even months from the face of the earth. 

We have seen how the pandemic has broken national and state borders that segregate the over 7.5 billion people of the world. The coronavirus has permeated through even the most well-fortified barriers.

We have also learnt that it's not just the marvels of telecommunication that have made this world a global village, it's also the travellers, mainly the international ones.

THE MSS TRIUMVIRATE

There is now a new world order (not economic but social), dictated by Mask, Sanitiser and Social Distance. 

It's okay if friends aren't invited for social occasions. It's also okay if we aren't invited.

It's okay if friends don't call on us when they are in our city. It's also okay if we don't call on them when we are in their city.  

Looks like we are beginning to make peace with the microscopic parasite. The villainous ring around it seems to be gradually dissipating.

Lockdowns are giving way to self-isolation.

Government-mandated testing procedures are giving way to testing in the comforts of our homes with home-kits.

Results of self-testing at home are also being considered official. That's, obviously, if people volunteer to inform the government.

"HAVEN'T SEEN YOU FOR AWHILE ... ALL WELL?"

No one wants to take a chance these days. Some aren't even testing if they have symptoms or have been a close contact. They immediately self-isolate. When there are symptoms, how does it matter if it's Covid or not: better to isolate, is the refrain.

But if someone hasn't been seen in public for a few days, does it automatically mean s/he was self-isolating, with or without Covid? 

Or it's just because s/he had an injury in her/his leg, and was confining to indoors?

Welcome to the Covidified world!

20 comments:

  1. True,Covid virus enters every nation,for it needs no visa. Anxiety had reached the pinnacle, then it descended and now it has become numb at least in Kerala. That fear which accompanied people is not seen, now-a-days.

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    1. Hi Sarala - Kerala has been always having very high numbers. The health infrastructure, luckily, is good there.

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  2. Hi Pradeep - I'm just glad the latest version is not so severe as Delta. I feel for our health services ... but you're right - we're all adapting ... it looks like we're about to go into the 'endemic' phase. MSS is a wise acronym - makes sense ... personally I could do without the M bit ... but understand the need. Cheers Hilary

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    1. I agree, Hilary. Here in India too the cases are mild, and case load is low.
      But I am sure a number of cases are untested or unreported cases.

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  3. Hari OM
    Quite some time back, in the original SARS infection that mainly hit the Asia-Pacific nations, we learned the importance of mask waering and I have never had an issue with it. The fiasco that arose when the western world was subjected to the need and purpose astonished me. Also, that in this day and age, after 200 years of knowledge, that folk need to be prompted to keep their hands clean is astounding. The third part, though, is the key challenge - maintaining an appropriate distance when infection is a threat. We are such social creatures... It's a changed scene, that's for sure. YAM xx

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    1. Hi Yamini - Couldn't agree with you more. Also, modernity has sort of made a lot of us complacent in various ways. The current crisis has been a wakeup call of sorts.
      You are right about that point about washing hands. But what astounds me a lot is people (mainly youngsters) getting on to their beds with their shoes on!

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  4. Just took a Covid test last night. Negative. Phew. I think the masks and such will be with us for a while. I look forward to the day when this is all in the past.

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    1. Glad it's negative. I too have had to take the test some three or four times in the past year.
      Though the numbers are comparatively very low in India, I am sure a number of cases are either untested (mild/asymptomatic) or unreported.

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  5. Interesting blog post Pradeep. You are not a pessimist. You are a practicalist. Look at some of the bright side. It is a convenient way not to invite someone to your function. Not to visit someone we don’t want to. I don’t worry if I don’t shave for a couple of days. Previously I would hesitate to meet someone with unshaven face. Now I am confident that my mask will cover that.

    Latest news: There are 9 US Supreme Court Justices. All 9 jointly sit together and listen every case. Nowadays, 8 of them wear mask. One person, Justice Neil Gorsuch refused to wear a mask, even after requested by the Chief Justice.

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    1. Thanks! Actually I would prefer to call myself a "realistic optimist".
      Indeed, the mask has its non-medical advantages. In fact, it prompted me to grow a beard after over 15 years!
      Yes, I saw that controversy about the judge not wearing a mask. Sign of our times!

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  6. Hi Pradeep - I think covid will be with us for a long time to come as it continues to mutate. Those who think it will disappear have been saying that for 2 years now, and it's still going strong. All we can hope for is that it keeps getting milder. We're still closed to the world here in Western Australia, but that is changing in a couple of weeks - and we'll be deluged with a bug that we have no idea how to deal with - there will be a huge uproar when we all start getting sick - mask wearing has started already....

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    1. Hi Leanne - You are right. I can see the world gradually adjusting to the new world we have now.

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  7. I think some nations in Europe have already declared the latest variant as an endemic. Let's hope this is the beginning of the end for the virus, and we return to being the social beings that we are made to be.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Hi Rajesh - That's right. That's the way it's going to be.

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  8. Nice blog Pradeep. Since no one is really able to predict how or what the virus will do next, guess we will just make the bridge(s) as we cross :)

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    1. Hi Lijo - Thanks :-) A very evolving situation!

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  9. I think the world is going this way, Pradeep, except the Netherlands which is being uncharacteristically strict. Look after yourself and your family. Distancing is the normal pattern now for those who want to avoid it. Many others don’t seem to be worrying.

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    1. Hi Vallypee - Thank you. Really unbelievable how this world, our priorities, and the way of life have changed so dramatically.

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  10. I am hoping omicron continues to be much weaker, often like a severe cold, and that we can soon go back to no more restrictions. Many countries are pushing vax mandates in order to work, go to school, buy food, etc, and I oppose those mandates. I am mostly staying isolated at home, it is tedious but more safe. Be well friends.

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  11. Stay healthy. That's all I can say. ~sigh~

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