Four Years With Covid 19

As of 1 March 2024, there were 1001 active Covid 19 infection cases in India according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. For almost four years now, we have been watching the number of newly infected vs. the number of recovered and discharged patients each day in India. It seems Covid 19 statistics have become part of our lives. But have you ever met someone who got Covid 19 infection six times in the last four years? I met one-person last week who recovered from a cold and flu and while telling me this, he laughed that he should be a ‘subject of research’ because in the last 4 years during annual seasonal outbreaks in the winter months, his rapid screening tests always gave him Covid 19 positive reports. Fear was absent in his eyes. This incident took me back four years when fear ruled in the name of Covid 19. Do you remember March of 2020?

I remember that I was involved in a heritage conservation program in the first week of March 2020. Interestingly, after the event a retired IAS officer said that there was a ‘coronavirus’ going around in India so keep a check and plan your next schedule accordingly. And he said it's a pretty ‘serious virus’ at least for ‘retired people’ and everyone laughed together. However, I reassured him that it was nothing to worry about and that we would probably conduct a session in a few weeks with him being the resource person again. Well, I was wrong.  The virus took the shape of a complete global pandemic and on March 24, 2020, we faced lockdown. Soon, ‘coronavirus’ became ‘Covid 19’ that brought the entire planet to a halt. And this halt made a big impact on our lives. There was no contact with anything or anyone. No handholding or patting someone on the back. During that lockdown, we realized how very important is our mental health and how important it is for us to be connected to friends and family or be part of a crowd at a marriage function.

We all are ‘survivors’ of this pandemic where devastation was the only word explainable and attributable to Covid 19. The death from Covid 19 remains an ongoing and serious risk. Many people died during the Omicron wave than in the supposedly deadlier Delta wave. Then came the new Covid 19 variant JN.1 with new increased volume of reinfection and new symptoms and deaths as well that caused the most concern. This has resulted into long covid, with symptoms like fatigue, memory loss, chest pain, diarrhea, and rapid heart rates. Some researchers have suggested that it can lead to a higher risk of lung problems, fatigue, diabetes, and certain other health problems which is result of long covid only. A lot of materialistic things are still not affordable for us, but ‘life’ should be taken as the biggest luxury after seeing all this.  Perhaps we learned to appreciate the many things we took for granted after lockdowns.

No one wants that loneliness to return to our lives. No one wants to stay in that isolation, especially our elders. The pandemic has made us better people, and more willing to lend a helping hand. Covid 19 brought the societies together which were drifting away due to introduction of technology in our life. We learned that humility and kindness should reflect our lives. However, the sad part is how quickly we forget and now no fear or sense of threat prevails in our minds. So, this should not end up with us just being a ‘survivor’. It’s important to remember that we battled loneliness, sick children, parents, in-laws and so much more. Today as we stand, we need to stay hopeful that we continue to thrive and live life full of community and new experiences. For all this, don’t forget to thank your God who helped you through this!