When I completed scripting and editing of my life story in book form, I thought that was the end of it. That was mid-December 2019 after my return from Bangladesh. Who could have thought the worst catastrophe of the centuries was waiting behind the wings to take the world stage immediately after? My story would not be complete without telling about it, as it is a happening in my lifetime and the worst ever so. Hence, I include here it as a post-script to my story.
In December 2019, a deadly infectious virus, since named COVID-19, originated in Wuhan city in China and spread at lightning speed almost all over the world, taking human lives like winter fall of leaves. To contain the spread of the virus, countries after countries went to lock-down state. All services except essential ones were closed down. Educational institutions, shops, and establishments, workplaces, transports, roads, rails, flights everything remained closed. People had to remain indoors except for essential and emergency needs. The hustle and bustle of cities around the world was not there to hear: the cities and the towns all had assumed forlorn looks. Animals roamed on the streets and parks in many places. In spite of all preemptive actions, the virus spread its wings. People, in lakhs and thousands around the world, got infected, and a large number of them died. It was a never before seen situation.
In India, the virus arrived later than in many other countries. After it struck, the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 was brought into effect in March 2020 for better prevention of the spread of the disease. Later, an amendment to the Act was brought by an Ordinance to protect healthcare service personnel and property including their living/working premises against violence during epidemics.
A peoples’ curfew was observed on March 22nd, 2020 at the initiative of the Prime Minister, as if, as a symbolic action, to close the door to the virus. A full-fledged lock-down throughout the country was clamped on March 25th and due to end on May 3rd unless extended further. Everything came to a standstill. Daily wage earners and migrant workers became the worst hit.
Meanwhile, based on the incidence of Corona infection, areas have been categorised as Red Zone (Hot spots), Orange Zone, and Green Zone. In all the areas, people have been advised to maintain social distancing, wash hands frequently with soap, and use masks whenever they unavoidably need to go out of the house. This is being rigorously enforced by the law enforcement agency, in and around the places having the incidence of infection. People, by and large, have, by now, become used to it. Areas falling within the red zones are being sealed for inward and outward movement with arrangements for strict monitoring. Rapid Corona tests are being conducted in these areas on priority.
Beds have been increased and areas segregated in existing hospitals, where necessary, for Covid patients. Private hospitals have been taken over in many places and facilities created there to treat Covid patients. The provisions made have, however, fallen short of the need as more and more people fell prey to the virus. In places like Kolkata, there has been an acute shortage of beds for Covid patients, and as of April 28th, 2020, all the beds in all the hospitals, public or private, were filled up. Quarantine Centres established for corona-positive patients are also reportedly overflowing. The government in their latest advisory has provided for home quarantine of mildly positive and asymptotic corona patients subject to certain conditions.
With the onset of the Corona virus, medical care for other kinds of diseases has become difficult to get. Doctors’ private chambers are closed due to lock-down. Hospital OPDs are also not functioning to prevent the spread of the disease. Diagnostic Centres, too, are mostly non-functional; only a few have been permitted to operate. Usual health care services are on the verge of break-down under the enormous stress on the system due to the Corona virus.
The overall position appears to be bleak when viewed with the suspension of all economic activities, and the resultant downturn.
Here is more to know about the virus as quoted from Wikipedia:
“Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona-virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019–20 corona-virus pandemic. As of 29 April 2020, more than 3.11 million cases have been reported across 185 countries and territories, resulting in more than 217,000 deaths. More than 928,000 people have recovered.
Common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of smell. While the majority of cases result in mild symptoms, some progress to viral pneumonia, multi-organ failure, or cytokine storm. More concerning symptoms include difficulty in breathing, persistent chest pain, confusion, difficulty walking, and bluish skin. The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is typically around five days but may range from two to fourteen days.
The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, or talking. The droplets usually fall to the ground or onto surfaces rather than remaining in the air over long distances. People may also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face. In experimental settings, the virus may survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours, is most contagious during the first three days after the onset of symptoms, although spread may be possible before symptoms appear and in later stages of the disease. The standard method of diagnosis is by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab. Chest CT imaging may also be helpful for diagnosis in individuals where there is a high suspicion of infection based on symptoms and risk factors; however, guidelines do not recommend using it for routine screening.
Recommended measures to prevent infection include frequent hand washing, maintaining physical distance from others (especially from those with symptoms), covering coughs, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face. In addition, the use of a face covering is recommended for those who suspect they have the virus and their caregivers. Recommendations for face-covering use by the general public vary, with some authorities recommending against their use, some recommending their use, and others requiring their use. Currently, there is not enough evidence for or against the use of masks (medical or other) in healthy individuals in the wider community. Also, masks purchased by the public may impact availability for health care providers.
Currently, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Management involves the treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Local transmission of the disease has occurred in most countries across all six WHO regions.
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Prevention
See also: 2019–20 corona-virus pandemic § Prevention, flatten the curve, and workplace hazard controls for COVID-19
Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include staying at home, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least 20 seconds, practising good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. The CDC recommends covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and recommends using the inside of the elbow if no tissue is available. Proper hand hygiene after any cough or sneeze is encouraged. The CDC has recommended the use of cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, in part to limit transmission by asymptomatic individuals. The U.S. National Institutes of Health guidelines do not recommend any medication for prevention of COVID‑19, before or after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, outside of the setting of a clinical trial.
Social distancing strategies aim to reduce contact of infected persons with large groups by closing schools and workplaces, restricting travel, and cancelling large public gatherings. Distancing guidelines also include that people stay at least 6 feet (1.8 m) apart. There is no medication known to be effective at preventing COVID‑19. After the implementation of social distancing and stay-at home orders, many regions have been able to sustain an effective transmission rate ("Rt") of less than one, meaning the disease is in remission in those areas. In a simple model {\textstyle log(R_{t})\approx R_{t}-1}log (Rt) ≈ Rt – 1 needs on average over time be kept at or below zero to avoid exponential growth.
As a vaccine is not expected until 2021 at the earliest, a key part of managing COVID‑19 is trying to decrease and delay the epidemic peak, known as "flattening the curve". This is done by slowing the infection rate to decrease the risk of health services being overwhelmed, allowing for better treatment of current cases, and delaying additional cases until effective treatments or a vaccine become available.
According to the WHO, the use of masks is recommended only if a person is coughing or sneezing or when one is taking care of someone with a suspected infection. For the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) face masks "... could be considered especially when visiting busy closed spaces ..." but "... only as a complementary measure ...". Several countries have recommended that healthy individuals wear face masks or cloth face coverings (like scarves or bandanas) at least in certain public settings, including China, Hong Kong, Spain, Italy (Lombardy region), and the United States.
Those diagnosed with COVID‑19 or who believe they may be infected are advised by the CDC to stay home except to get medical care, call ahead before visiting a healthcare provider, wear a face mask before entering the healthcare provider's office, and when in any room or vehicle with another person, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid sharing personal household items. The CDC also recommends that individuals wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the toilet or when hands are visibly dirty, before eating, and after blowing one's nose, coughing or sneezing. It further recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol, but only when soap and water are not readily available.
For areas where commercial hand sanitisers are not readily available, the WHO provides two formulations for local production. In these formulations, the antimicrobial activity arises from ethanol or isopropanol. Hydrogen peroxide is used to help eliminate bacterial spores in the alcohol; it is "not an active substance for hand antisepsis". Glycerol is added as a humectant.
Progressively stronger mitigation efforts to reduce the number of active cases at any given time—known as "flattening the curve"—allows healthcare services to better manage the same volume of patients. Likewise, progressively greater increases in healthcare capacity—called raising the line—such as by increasing bed count, personnel, and equipment, helps to meet increased demand.
Mitigation attempts that are inadequate in strictness or duration—such as premature relaxation of distancing rules or stay-at-home orders—can allow a resurgence after the initial surge and mitigation.
Prevention efforts are multiplicative, with effects far beyond that of a single spread. Each avoided case leads to more avoided cases down the line, which in turn can stop the outbreak in its tracks. Hand-washing instructions ↓
Management
People are managed with supportive care, which may include fluid therapy, oxygen support, and supporting other affected vital organs. The CDC recommends that those who suspect they carry the virus wear a simple face mask. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to address the issue of respiratory failure, but its benefits are still under consideration. Personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle and diet have been recommended to improve immunity. Supportive treatments may be useful in those with mild symptoms at the early stage of infection.
The WHO, the Chinese National Health Commission, and the United States' National Institutes of Health have published recommendations for taking care of people who are hospitalised with COVID – 19. Intensivists and pulmonologists in the U. S. have compiled treatment recommendations from various agencies into a free resource, the IBCC.”
There has since been much progress in containing the disease by newly developed vaccines and strict observance of Covid protocol. Research for oral medicines and nasal spray is at an advanced stage. (As in 2021)
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