LIFE IN THE TIMES OF CORONAVIRUS
Love in the Time of Cholera, by Colombian Nobel prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez is one of my favourite books; it tells the story of forbidden love enduring through five decades. Fermina ends her long-distance relationship with Florentina, believing it to be but a dream. At her father’s urging, she weds a medical doctor Urbino committed to curing Cholera. After five decades, and Urbino’s death, she returns to her first love. The novel portrayed the soul tormenting effect of the deadly disease called love. The novel’s most prominent theme suggests that lovesickness is an illness, a plague comparable to cholera.
Marquez’s saga may have been fictitious, yet Dr Urbino’s preoccupation with cholera in the novel got based on a distressful reality. In the 19th Century, cholera emerged from the Ganges in India and spread worldwide, causing not only one but seven pandemics. The spread of the disease was so rampant that it changed the world. The curse of cholera revealed our lack of respect for germs and how they could turn against us. Now, a century after the great influenza pandemic of 1918, where between 50 and 100 million people died, germs have once again come against us—this time as the COVID-19.
Coronavirus like cholera and the swine flu is now spreading like wildfire across the world after the earliest reported symptoms occurred on 1 December 2019, in China. Outbreaks have now got announced in over 110 countries with over 118,000 confirmed cases and 4,200 deaths worldwide forcing the World Health Organization (WHO) to describe the novel coronavirus as a pandemic for the first time. Authorities in India reported the first case of the coronavirus pandemic in India on 30 January 2020, which originated from China. As of 15 March 2020, India has confirmed 107 cases two deaths. Coronavirus spread has been declared as an epidemic in Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, where provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 have got invoked, and the government have shut down educational institutions and many commercial establishments .
Fear of Coronavirus spread has also led to major conferences, conventions, festivities and sporting tournaments getting cancelled, suspended or deferred around the world. The spreading virus is compelling companies to lessen unnecessary journeys with several countries cancelling flights to virus-hit countries. The travel cancellations are threatening billions of dollars in lost revenue for local economies. Although advisories have got issued that people should avoid non-essential travel, the recent travel deals for international and domestic flights look mighty tempting. Expedia offers a trip from New York to Paris for only 112 dollars on March 23. Airlines will keep prices so low to make people travel again. After a rise in coronavirus cases, India has placed stringent conditions on inbound travel. India has suspended all tourist visas, as they have linked Coronavirus cases to other nations.
Because of the spread of the virus, congregating and socialising is being discouraged or being prohibited in several parts of the world. Because of a ban on public gatherings, several cities all over the world are witnessing empty streets. My favourite Ooty ultra-marathon, which the organisers scheduled on April 5, has got postponed despite L.A. Marathon being held recently amidst coronavirus fears with masks, sanitiser, water bottles and humour. Organisers reportedly advised runners during the race to wash their hands before the race and not to shake hands with other participants or the public. Hand sanitiser was also available for runners along the course.
The coronavirus is also forcing people to shun travel by public transport. When my friend Satish had to travel to Bengaluru, he drove the 340 km distance between the two cities, because of a realisation dawning on him that train travel during a virus outbreak was too risky. And while in the town he felt lonely as the city had shut malls, cinemas and the famous pubs where he could guzzle some chilled beer and chill out with the cool crowd. Other Chennaites, however, seem to be an exception. They believe that their city where aggressive smells and heaps of litter lurk around corners appear to be under the impression along with several other Indians that their immune systems are impregnable because they’ve already got acquainted with every germ on this planet.
The Coronavirus has not spared cricket either, which is the most popular Indian sport. Board of Control for Cricket in India has notified that the opening of the 2020 Indian Premier League slated for 29 March has got postponed to 15 April. BCCI also cancelled the ODI matches between India and South Africa on 15 and 18 March, which they announced would get played without spectators. Coronavirus has also ensured that the 2020 ISSF World Cup, planned on 15 March in New Delhi and India’s FIFA World Cup qualification match on 26 March against Qatar in Bhubaneswar, has got postponed. The 2020 Indian Super League Final ended up being played behind closed doors.
COViD 19 has wrought havoc on several international fixtures. NBA has suspended its season because of the COVID-19 outbreak, because of a player from the Utah Jazz testing positive for the virus, just before a game between the team and Oklahoma City Thunder. Most sporting events around the world are being played behind closed doors, or are being postponed or cancelled as coronavirus continues to spread. Chelsea’s game against Bayern Munich in Germany is to be played behind closed doors. La Liga matches in Spain are being planned to get played in empty stadiums for at least the next two rounds of fixtures. Bahrain held this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix as participants-only event without spectators as the organisers decided that conducting a critical sporting event accessible to the public permits thousands of international travellers and local fans to interact which they thought was not the right thing to do at the moment. Coronavirus also succeeded in forcing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch lighting ceremony to get staged without spectators in Greece.
The novel coronavirus Covid-19 has been successful in throwing the future of everything from personal vacation to international events like the Olympics, music festivals, and conventions into doubt. Famous landmarks and destinations all over the world are temporarily closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Disney has closed its Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and its Disneyland resort in Los Angeles and also suspended all new departures with the Disney Cruise Line. Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, and Los Angeles have also announced plans to close temporarily. In Ireland, the city of Dublin cancelled its annual St. Patrick’s Day parade because of coronavirus scare.
In India, from March 7 onwards, Wagah-Attari border ceremony is being performed with no onlookers as a precautionary measure. Authorities have also suspended the Indian Open badminton tournament, which they had scheduled to conduct in New Delhi from March 24 until April 12. The 21st IIFA Awards ceremony, which they planned to hold in Indore on 29 March, and the India Fashion Week, slated to begin on 11 March in New Delhi, has also got postponed. The Padma Awards ceremony planned on April 3 has also got put off.
The coronavirus seems to be not just devastating the health scene but is also wrecking the Indian economy. Indian stock markets experienced their worst crash since June 2017 after WHO’s declaration of the coronavirus eruption as a pandemic. The BSE SENSEX plummeted 8.18 percent or 2,919 points which were its lowest in 23 months while the NIFTY plunged 9 percent or 950 points. The Asian Development Bank has assessed that the outbreak could bring the Indian Economy down by US$29.9 billion. A UN report has computed a trade decline that could cost India a whopping US$348 million due to the onslaught of coronavirus, and turn India into one of the 15 worst impacted economies across the world.
As several cities remain in lockdown, online social activity and subcultures are thriving. I have been of late receiving several social media posts which nudge me to clean surfaces in my home and office, disinfect handles, doorknobs, cupboard doors, and anything else frequently touched, and to wash bedding periodically and throw pillowcases.Some. posts have been urging me to work from home if I felt sick, while some WhatsApp forwards and Facebook posts have been advising me on – how to wash hands thoroughly for 20 seconds, and to cover a sneeze with one’s elbow, and to wash one’s hands if we sneeze into them. A viral rumour being propagated on Twitter at #NoMeat_NoCoronaVirus asserts that people who consume meat could get affected by a coronavirus.
Social media is also buzzing with jokes on Coronavirus. I came across a joke on how coronavirus is like “Corona beer”, a famous brand of alcohol. Memes about how you should avoid beer to prevent coronavirus have also been going viral. There is one which goes- If the CoronaVirus isn’t about beer, why do I keep hearing about cases of it? Other jokes proclaim that coronavirus won’t last long because they made it in China”, while a feature from The Simpsons, infers that the virus is nature’s way of getting back at China for pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. Corona the beer is having a rough time this year, as virus memes have caused its stock prices to plummet. Another post which I received humorously goes – Before CoronaVirus I used to cough to cover a fart, now I fart to cover a cough. Washington’s secretary of state before the Washington state’s primary elections tweeted a picture that warned the public against licking ballot-return envelopes to seal them: He exhorted “Whether healthy or sick, please don’t lick!” The Internet is also full of people making masks with the weirdest things. From bras to bottles or even wrapping oneself in plastic. People around the world are resorting to strange ways of keeping the virus at bay. People are creating masks not only out of fabric but also from bra cups and giant, winged sanitary pads. All the officers and men under me in my organisation have been told take all the necessary precautions and they have also been instructed to immediately stop the use of breathalysers to detect drunken driving as it could become a carrier and transmit the diseases to others.
Although countries like Spain and France have doled out official warnings for their citizens to avoid kissing and other forms of physical contact. Love in the time of Coronavirus seems to flourish like crazy with online dating platforms, relishing the tough times, with unusual activity recorded in the past few weeks. Further, ever since coronavirus became a global health crisis, sales of sex toys and online dating usage have been soaring, and Pornhub has given free premium access to people in Italy who are in quarantine. The brand’s top seller Womanizer Premium is allowing women to masturbate, particularly to those who have less access to their partner because of quarantine. Many sex workers in Antwerp seem to report that the corona issue has had a definite impact on the number of clients. While there have been no scientific studies we’re aware of, we can only imagine that as more people stay indoors, birth rates may rise in the days to come which may counterbalance the deaths due to the disease.
Coronavirus outbreak has also led to toilet paper hoarding, and subsequent shortages in stores in different parts of the world, such as Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, and the U.S. People seem to go nuts buying toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex, garbage bags, bottled water, rice, and bulk, canned food. Nine News Australia showed how shelves in stores in Australia are empty. In Australia, 192,000 rolls got sold in half an hour, mainly because of the fears that lengthy quarantines may occur. India, the world’s leading supplier of generic drugs, has restrained the export of 26 pharmaceutical ingredients and the medicines made from them, including Paracetamol as the coronavirus outbreak, plays havoc with supply chains.
People of Asian descent are facing discriminatory jokes and accusations of being carriers of the coronavirus. Students from Northeast India, in Kirori Mal College, Delhi and Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai have alleged of being subjected to racism and harassment related to coronavirus outbreak. In the USA, when a group of students threw a coronavirus-themed party at the University of Albany, complete with Corona beers and face masks, the school’s Asian American Alliance released a statement on Instagram condemning the event, calling it a hate crime. Many instances of coronavirus humour have drawn a backlash, Prince William’s and PewDiePie’s comments, are reported to have got understood as racially tinged or worse.
Although a vaccine for coronavirus does not seem anywhere in sight, several people have been coming with several innovative methods to prevent and cure coronavirus disease. In February, Swami Chakrapani Maharaj, president of the Hindu Mahasabha, asserted that “Consuming cow urine and cow dung will stop the effect of infectious coronavirus. He also asserted that a person who chants Om Namah Shivay and applies cow dung on the body would be saved,” The Hindu Mahasabha chief also revealed that a special yagna would be performed to kill the virus. BJP MLA from Assam, Suman Haripriya, has claimed that cow urine and cow dung can purify areas of coronavirus.
When diseases such as Coronavirus ravage the earth, many wonder if they are signs that the end of the world is near. But rather than worrying about tomorrow, we should focus on today. Today and this present moment is where heaven meets earth, where we can do good, and live in grace and joy.
Source from: epaper/deccanchronicle/chennai/dt:16.03.2020
Dr.K. Jayanth Murali is an IPS Officer belonging to 1991 batch. He is borne on Tamil Nadu cadre. He lives with his family in Chennai, India. He is currently serving the Government of Tamil Nadu as Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order.
