Daily Times

So far, the most lethal weapons which have the capacity to obliterate human race from the surface of the earth are hydrogen and atom bombs, but the people have never truly felt their danger as acutely and as imminently as they have felt a danger from a virus which is a non-living genetic element and cannot be seen even through a microscope. For the first time in human history, there is a real panic to human life on earth, as this virus has spread into almost 197 countries of the world in matters of a few weeks.

For the last over four weeks, there is no news in the entire media of the world except the news of the spread of this new type of virus discovered in November of 2019, which has taken the entire world under its pernicious hold. The name of this virus is “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the disease which it spreads is called COVID-19. The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, which is short for “coronavirus disease 2019”. It has left millions of people guessing whether it is a kind of virus like the flu? The biological science has so far not given a conclusive answer whether a virus is a living organism or an insensate element which under certain conditions is absorbed into human organism where it becomes active and starts consuming human cells. No vaccine has so far been invented to stop it from killing human beings. Hence the unprecedented alarm all over the world.

A virus is a microscopic piece of genetic material surrounded by a coat made of proteins. It enters healthy cells and hijacks them, creating copies of itself. When viruses begin replicating inside a living organism, they can cause an infectious disease. In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, the disease is called COVID-19.

COVID-19 is not just like the flu. There are many reasons why the COVID-19 pandemic is different from the flu. COVID-19 and the flu are both caused by viruses, so antibiotics won’t help: Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections. COVID-19 is caused by a specific, novel (new) type of coronavirus called SARS-CoV2 (“severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”). The flu is caused by different types of the influenza virus. The viruses that cause COVID-19 or the flu are not the same.

Both viruses are transmitted from one person to another via droplets: If someone with either of these viruses sneezes, coughs, speaks, or talks, droplets carrying the virus end up in the air or fall down to lower surfaces. When these droplets land in another person’s mouth, nose, or eyes – or when a person touches a surface that has droplets and then touches their own mouth, nose, or eyes – the virus can enter the other person’s body.

Hand washing is an effective way to slow the spread of both viruses: Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is the best way to kill the viruses on your hands – and it kills other germs that hand sanitizers don’t. If you don’t have soap and water, hand sanitizers with 60% to 80% alcohol are a good second option. Keeping your hands clean helps you make sure you aren’t transferring the viruses from one place to another.

People over age 60, people with chronic health problems, and people with weaker immune systems have a higher risk of dying from both viruses: COVID-19 and the flu are especially dangerous for older or sicker people. But this doesn’t mean that younger people are risk-free. Some flu strains affect young, healthy people more severely. And recent reports on COVID-19 are showing that many younger people between 20 and 54 years old are being hospitalized from the disease.

The great historian of our time Yuaval Noah Harari has declared the discovery and spread of coronavirus as perhaps the biggest crisis of our generation. According to Harari, the decisions people and governments would take in the next few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. He predicted that the present crisis will shape not just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and culture. We will be compelled to ask ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the storm passes away. He adds that the storm will pass, and humankind will survive, but we will inhabit a different world.

In 2018-2019 flu season, the flu death rate in the US was about 0.1%. That means for every 1,000 people who got the flu, one died. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still in its early stages and, at least in the US, many people with symptoms are not being tested, we don’t have an accurate picture of how many people are really infected. That means we don’t yet know the true death rate. Based on the reports we do have, the numbers are showing that the death rate of COVID-19 is much higher than that of the flu. As of March 19, 2020, the US COVID-19 death rate was hovering between 1.8% and 3.4%. That means for every 100 people who have got COVID-19, about 1 to 4 have died. According to the WHO data as of March 3, 2020, the worldwide death rate is 3.4%. The death rate would be lower if we knew that more people were getting infected and not dying from it.

In order to prevent the spread of this menace, most countries have locked-down their cities and towns, and people are prevented from coming out of their houses. The hotels and restaurants, the schools, colleges and markets and all public places have been closed down. All means of travel, by road or air have been stopped, and the civic lives in all countries have come to a grinding halt.

The storm will pass, and humankind will survive, but we will inhabit a different world

At a news conference on Thursday, President Trump was asked how long will it take for things to go back to normal? His reply was till about July or August. This lockdown in the long run will prove to be disruptive, but all this is being done to prevent mass death and infection.

Since SARS-CoV-2 is a novel (new) type of coronavirus in humans, none of our immune systems are ready to fight it. Plus, there’s no vaccine for it. This means that many people who come in contact with the virus will get sick from it.

One must avoid going to the hospital or emergency room unless one has severe symptoms like trouble breathing, confusion, or very high temperature. But if your symptoms are mild, you may be instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Social distancing is at present the only feasible solution to stop the mass spread of this virus. The scientists believe that even if we can’t completely stop its spread, we can at least hope to “flatten the curve”. The idea is that instead of there being tens of thousands of sick people at one time, there are fewer infections over a longer period of time. This would help the doctors and paramedics to adequately help and treat individual cases of virus.

We are acutely short of the necessary gear to even handle patients (i.e face masks, hand gloves and protective suits for immunity etc) whereas other countries have dumped all their resources in manufacturing these urgent accessories in millions and billions, in Pakistan we are doing nothing to manufacture these primary gears to fight our future battle. A single cheap and substandard face mask costs one no less than Rs 70 to 80 per piece (which needs to be changed every second day) I do not know on which country’s charity our government is looking up to. In all exigencies in the past, we have traditionally thrown ourselves at the mercy of others. If some alien comes to help us, it would be well and good. If nobody comes to our rescue, then we’ll fight our war by dint of our sheer faith in the Almighty!

The writer is a former member of the Provincial Civil Service, and an author of Moments in Silence