It’s 7:45 AM on a weekday. I look at my phone to turn off the alarm, when I see that my phone is abuzz with notifications.
Groggy, half asleep, I peek through the many messages, news articles and updates. They are all about the coronavirus, the infection that has become one of the biggest crises for most of humanity, including millennials who have never been sentient during a panic attack of such large proportions.
The coronavirus may seem like a biological threat, a virus that has caused the world swift yet destructive harm. Yet, COVID-19, our affectionate nickname for the deadly disease, has completely transformed our routines and behaviors, causing a lot of us to change our day-to-day lives, staying at home with our cleaning supplies. Some changes might as well become the new normal for us. (A note on the name: personally, I like calling it Govind, a common Indian name. Why? Why not? If we are going to be discussing this 24×7 for the foreseeable future, we might as give it some personality. If you prefer a feminine name, call it Karuna.)
Let’s start with the everyday effects we read in the news. Stock markets around the world have crashed like there is no tomorrow (too dark, eh?). Investors have not been reassured by the many moves various governments and world organizations make, in part because no one is completely sure about various facets of the virus, discovering more about its causes and effects everyday. In the US, departmental stores are running out of toilet paper, sanitizers and disinfectants. On a personal note, I have had to continuously communicate with my local CVS representatives to track the shipment of their next set of disinfectants, which I still have not gotten. This is not something I think I or anyone else could have been thinking we would be doing. Most of us are discouraged (or forced) to stay at home for an indefinite period; WFH (Work From Home) is the new style along with our Zoom meetings and Skype chats. Across the world, countries are locking their borders, flights are being grounded and hospital are getting over-capacity.
What puts it into perspective a little more for me is the photos in the link below. As a current NYC resident, I cannot believe the City That Never Sleeps is quiet, even for a bit.
Clearly, there is a lot panic and fear; it has now reached the point that most of us get worried whenever we cough or sneeze! In some ways, the disease of fear clearly overpowers the disease of the virus, and may well be why we can’t cope properly in the future. Not to mention, social distancing may lead to too much mental isolation, too quickly. I am sure all of you have heard that “man is a social animal”. Well, clearly the virus has stripped us of this innate need physically at least. Crippling the mind is a sure win of the virus, and exacerbated by widespread panic, the after-effects are sure to stay long after any virus does.
What I think is most remarkable is how in the wake of this new crisis, educated, wise and respected people are forwarding messages with the most appalling attitude towards science or logic, be it killing the virus with vibrations or consuming garlic to ward it away. With #FakeNews as another part of our already overburdened daily lives, the virus has enabled a section of society to simply disregard science and convince others that rituals and old wives’ tales (should be updated to old people’s tales) trump science. It is extremely saddening to watch how readily people will swallow whatever is thrown at them, and it is even more disappointing to watch it be drunk drop-by-drop by someone we know, be it friends or family. The virus has given rise to what I call “doomsurfing”, a constant state of panic where everyone is panicking by reading the latest update about the virus and its whereabouts from a lot of different news sources. It seems like an appropriate technological challenge given the unlimited access from our mobiles. Sure, there are also some sections of society who have deemed fear as something of yesterday, when they start exercising on the streets since gyms are closed or continue to go for Spring Break to Florida (see below) pretending there is nothing wrong.
It is sometimes mind boggling for me to look at this spectrum of humanity and wonder what the point of anything is if we are to behave like this. It is also a silent, but powerful win for the virus. But hey, if someone has been planning a vacation for a long time, who is the coronavirus to stop it? Or by chanting slogans, you can send this mysterious virus back? The video below is supposed to be shocking, but I find it equally hilarious.
Perhaps, the most obvious thing to me has been at grocery stores: these are one of the few necessary establishments that are open, because of which there are long lines. When there are long lines, people tend to stand closer to each other. You getting what I am trying to convey?
With heavy projected economic losses for the global economy, future unemployment supposed to increase, some politicians such as those in the US are looking to pump more money into the business side of things, hopefully especially for the small mom and dad pop stores out here. But here again, they have made a miraculous assumption: that there will be an economy left to sustain! Instead of thinking entirely about finances in the US, how about they spend more on the crippled healthcare system, where hospital beds are projected to run out by mid-April or focus on groups such as the homeless, who are not only more prone health-wise, but by definition without a home, will also be effective transmitters for the virus. Or how about even spending some money to educate those amazingly smart Spring Breakers about how dangerously silly their actions and the potential impacts these small changes will have. As Governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo states “It’s not the economy or public health, it’s both.”
I am not heartless; I do feel for small businesses and other daily-wage laborers, so do look out for them, but also look at the whole system in totality. In fact, if you are in a position of privilege, try to support the local ecosystem: maybe give any daily wage earners or your kind domestic help a salary advance of a month or two so they can stay safe and healthy at home. Maybe, put out food for the stray dogs around your locality since restaurants are not open to toss our their scraps to them.
So as over-washed and over-sanitized hands become our reality, we must do our bit to “flatten the curve”. See this for what this means (if you haven’t seen this multiple times before), because it’s a simple yet powerful concept.
You have probably read what precautions you should be taking, so I will not repeat those. However, you’re probably also curious how such a seemingly small step such as (1) washing your hands properly for 20 seconds or (2) mere social distancing can kill or curb the virus. To explain (1), I point you to (yet another) excellent video by Vox:
For (2), watch another amazing visualization done by the New York Times:
With all the fear slowly creeping up, it’s difficult to ignore it. What matters is that you can flip the mental isolation and fear with the time you have. Remember when you said you would start writing your novel or when you said you would learn a new skill or maybe the time you said you wanted more family time out of your busy work life? Well … now is the time! You probably (and hopefully) will never get this time again. Use it to tick those (indoor related) bucket list items or your (indoor related) New Year’s resolutions.
Perhaps, that double-edged sword called technology can be wielded to our advantage right now. Can’t go to the gym? No problem, there are a million videos on every exercise out there, and when you (like me) realize that you can’t do these seemingly easy movements relating to your hands, legs or stomach, don’t feel bad. Need something for the house? Amazon. Something for the kitchen? Amazon. Something for <insert pretty much anything>? Amazon. (Sorry for the bad joke, but humor is another thing we must embrace as a society right now more than ever to balance the current situation). Need to talk to family members? They’re there and also they’re bored and free and may actually want to talk! Fast-forward one week and you’re bored of talking to the same people. Skype/FaceTime your friends, anywhere in the world and share stories of what’s happening and how is more bored! Learn a language. Learn to cook something. Don’t have groceries? Order from … Amazon! (Apologies again.) Commence an early “Spring Cleaning”, rearrange furniture, sort through those old boxes in the furthest corner of your cupboards and relive some of those old memories. Or join the new, funky trends that are already there on Instagram. Yes, I agree most of them are downright stupid. But it keeps the morale high and the laughter coming. Play games online — this is my personal favorite and it’s amazing to see complicated games such as Dominion out there, free to play! Finally, you can also write about your take on the entire matter, hint, hint … In some ways, it’s a great time to re-discover or re-invent yourself. Unfortunately for those of you who dislike work, WFH is also a new reality, sorry!
The other thing about technology is that all those people on Instagram and Twitter, the ones who have hundreds or millions of followers around their every post or tweet or like, have somewhat of a strange power and can use it right now for good. The people who follow them, respect you in some ways. Use this respect to spread awareness about fighting the virus, to quash trolls with inaccurate science (frankly, it’s not even science at this point) and lastly, to spread positivity. Anything that makes them happy.
Lastly, as we continue to grasp with the virus and learn everyday, we must realize there has been an unintended beneficiary: Mother Nature. For the first time, since I moved to New York City, I could hear birds chirping outside my window. Dolphins were spotted in the usually polluted waterways of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy and seafront of Marine Drive, Mumbai, India. Aerial pictures of pollution levels in China show a drastic reduction as well.
The current scenario should make us think about what actually mitigating global warming looks like, what we all must actually do to save the environment, how small our measures so far have been and how we must think of protecting the world we live in a post-corona world, because global warming will still be there even after the virus.
It’s sad to think that the only way we can protect our planet is by being forced to stay indoors. As I said, there is much to be done.
I hope this article gives you something to think about, or even acts as a place where you can collect your feelings from the last month or so. It definitely has done that to me while I was writing it. We are the cusp of a scary time in our lives, but also we are at cusp of a time in our lives where we have the support of humanity.
Nothing unites humanity than something trying to kill it.
Seriously, I have articles of how Dior will start producing hand sanitizers to fight the coronavirus in France or how Jack Ma is sending masks to the US. These are just 2 of the many stories. Yes, there is somewhat of an implicit need for those in power and those with money to help, but I still find these stories reassuring.
So fellow cooped up humans, use the support of your loved ones, stay positive, because like the many tragedies we have faced, this is another one for the history books. The WHO has repeatedly said that countries have the power to change the course of the virus. But we must listen to the warnings and follow the new rules of life. Yes, it is uncomfortable, but also you’re at home, unlike the scores of healthcare professionals and others who are working tirelessly. We must aid our governments when they tell us to stay indoors and follow science as our religion and compassion as our guiding philosophy.
Take care of your physical and, more importantly, mental health and well-being.
We’re at a time in society where we can help reduce the impact of the virus by fact-checking Tweets or WhatsApp forwards we see, and educating those around us.
Fast forward 20 years later, where the coronavirus will be reduced to a dip in the curve of human history: we will be telling our children this cautious tale about an organism that is so simple that it can’t survive without a host; how it created a mess that made us reconsider what we take for granted and how we defeated it by living somewhat inconvenient lives temporarily, but realizing it was for the permanent greater good.
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