Covid-19: For India, Iran is closer than Uttar Pradesh

Worlds’ fifth-largest economy and one of the developing  nations among developed countries, India is currently appearing helpless and ill-prepared to fight deadly Coronavirus, commonly-known as Covid-19. Besides, lockdown and appreciation for those who are fighting it in the hospitals, Indian Prime Minister-Narendra Modi, during his couple of addresses to the nation, had nothing substantial in hand that would be considered as an apposite weapon to fight the virus. In the first address to the nation, Modi declared ‘Janta Curfew’ and appealed all to appreciate doctors by clapping from balconies, but this request backfired, as people thronged the streets with firecrackers and dhols, dancing as if they had conquered the deadly virus. The prime minister office could be quite embarrassed with the move, thus during the second address to the nation, Prime Minister had to issue strict directions of complete 21-day lockdown.

The first appeal of ‘Janta Curfew’ made at least three days in advance, while as second directions came abruptly, just four hours before its implementation at 12 midnight. Though it was need of the hour to successfully maintain social distancing to avoid the spread of this deadly virus, but the government failed to take notice of lakhs of migrant laborers, who have been working in other states, thus plunging them in a state of uncertainty. In the absence of public transport and apathy of State and Union governments, these migrant poor laborers and semi-skilled workers, having no sources of existence after they lost their jobs, moved on foot to reach their villages, distances ranging from 200 to 800 kilometers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and other states. They rushed to various bus terminuses in and around Delhi hoping to get buses or some other mode of travel, but to no avail. In order to stop the spread of the virus, these migrant laborers were stopped at borders, leading to the gathering of several thousand.

These migrant laborers have spent days together at the inter-state border, making them the most unfortunate citizen of this country. The Indian government missed no opportunity to bring back its citizens from many foreign countries, including China and Iran, the most affected countries, but no politician has shown enough empathy for these poor laborers, at least by arranging a couple of buses for their disposal. Rather than providing a helping hand to this bourgeois class, the government shamed them in open by spraying disinfectant on them, as if they were a parasite.

The Government off-the-cuff decision to impose a 21-day lockdown all over the country does not appear to be a pragmatic decision. It is a discriminatory policy, which favours the rich and middle classes throwing poor into disarray. Consequently, this realization over-powered the decision-makers and for which in his monthly radio program ‘Mann ki Baat’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday apologized for the “harsh decision” of a 21-day nationwide lockdown enforced in an attempt to contain the pandemic. At the same time Modi is being praised for his timely steps to the country under lock-down for three weeks to prevent the spread of the virus from man to man and from door to door.

Confinement at home is a part of social distancing to protect from Covid-19, which has already made some extroverts a bit suppressed, if not depressed. It is a situation; we find in just first six days of social distancing efforts. Suddenly, we all have been put to social distancing for a complete 21-day period in an attempt to break the chain of virus spreading among human beings. There may be an extension of this the period at the end of 21 days as to who knows what would be the situation in the country then.

The number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases across the globe surpassed 7,00,000, with fresh cases being reported from Europe. So far more than 30,000 people died due to the disease. While the US tops the world in the number of positive cases reported, five European countries — Italy, Spain, China, Iran, and France — recorded the highest number of deaths.

In Pakistan, 1,562 have been tested positive and 15 people died still it is positive that with best efforts of doctors 28 persons have recovered. Situation in India appears to have been slightly better than many of rich countries of the world.  With 106 fresh cases and six deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in India rose to 979 including 25 deaths on Sunday, the Health Ministry said.

For the first time the whole world is in the grip of the pandemic. Lack of equipment, critical care beds, ventilators and other oxygen providing equipment, have further worsened the already depleting condition. The moot point is where from this Coronavirus originated and has spread all over the world by more mobile and traveling human beings carried the Coronavirus without knowing having been affected.

According to a report published in UK’s eminent newspaper Guardian, Chinese researchers investigating the animal origin of the coronavirus outbreak in China have said that the endangered pangolin may be the “missing link” between bats and humans. Bats are known carriers of the latest strain of the disease, which has infected at least 31,000 people and killed more than 630 worldwide, mostly in China where the outbreak started. The Guardian report further pointed out that a genetic analysis showed that the strain of the virus currently spreading among humans were 96% identical to that found in bats.

Martine Peeters, a virologist at France’s Institute for Research and Development (IRD), was part of the team that identified the host animal of the Ebola virus during recent epidemics. They found that it was indeed a bat that passed the virus on to humans, and Peeters believes that is likely to be the case this time around. During her Ebola research, “we collected thousands of bat dropping from several sites in Africa,” Peeters told the news agency. Eric Leroy, a virologist, and vet at the IRD said that the search could well turn up a result quickly, as with Sars. Equally, it could take years. “With Ebola, research started in 1976 and we didn’t see the first results published until 2005,” he told news agency.

For Fontanet, Coronavirus is just the latest example of the potentially disastrous consequence of humans consuming virus-carrying wild animals. He said that China needed to “take pretty radical measures against the sale of wild animals in markets”. Beijing has prohibited the practice, but only moved to do so last month, when the outbreak was already out of control.

Each time, we try to put out the fire, and once it’s out we await the next one,” said François Renaud, a researcher at the Paris-based National Centre for Scientific Research.

He recommended compiling a watch list of all animals that could potentially transmit viruses to humans. “You need to see epidemics before they come, and therefore you need to be proactive,” he said.

The Coronavirus which results in a zoonotic disease, is thought to have originated in a “seafood much more than fish. Chinese authorities found everything from hedgehogs, and wild boars to crocodiles for sale there, providing ideal conditions for the virus to jump to new hosts and ultimately to people.

India, after reigniting the SAARC for unitedly fighting coronavirus, let us look back at Indian situation.  At the height of the COVID-19, every Indian be a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian or Sikh, was equally under threat by the deadly virus. At this time of national crises, the PM Modi take each and every human being into confidence. He can capitalise on the virus to sow unity in the country on the platform of a universal humanity whether one is Hindu or Muslim or Sikh or Christian.