SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
Lessons learnt the hard way
COVID-19 has taken the lives of so many people simultaneously. Suicides have wrenched our hearts that resulted due to the wickedness and pressure of the situation that some of our own have succumbed to it.
The life we live does not depend on the situation that tries to dictate our reaction towards the situation that we as humans can avoid with a little bit of emotional support to these people who have added colour to our lives.
Everyone is not calibrated with the same gauge of emotions and this is the time humanity plays the role of an Angel in disguise. Let's be human and support humanity in whatever we can contribute in this time of crises. No money in this World will bring back a life lost which could be saved with resources of Mother Nature but we fail.
This virus has taught us that no money in the world can save us from its wrath but our caring devotion.
Let's be proactive to focus on the needy and help them to pass this phase of crises, we will never spend what we've earned our entire lives but we can make a difference by helping them when they need a little from what we've been fortunate of the opportunity to earn it.
We need to be focused on making the difference of saving lives than boasting about our lifestyles of enjoying when the needy suffered.
This is the lesson learned the hard way.
Savio D'Costa, Chandor
International Day of Families
World Family Day is celebrated on May 15 every year. It is also observed as the ‘International Day of Families’. This day is held annually and it is a global observance. This day was founded by the United Nations General Assembly in the year, 1993.
The World Family Day celebrates the importance of families. On this day, a get together with the family brings happiness to all the members of the house.
Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai
Now is the real challenge
The early day of the lockdown after the Janta Curfew we saw local bodies the municipal /panchayat working overboard in trying to stream line the food supply chain and other essentials to the needy people /senior citizens and the public in general. There was great enthusiasm shown in getting the service of the Fire Station manpower using some disinfectant by spraying in public places when the public was not allowed to move around with all commercials/grocery remaining totally close.
They might have taken the cue from the USA President Donald Trump in some States the officials even sprayed disinfectant on the poor helpless migrants left at the mercy of these officials to find shelter and food. Thanks for the fast advisory from the MHA to stop this. Now is the real challenge for all. When every Government head is easing opening lots of activities in public places/public transport system/industries that all these places have to be sprayed by the disinfectant which is believed to kill the coronavirus.
I hope the authorities and the Government will press in for the daily cleaning of the public places before they begin their normal routine.
Gregory E. Dsouza, Siolim
Eco package a shot in the arm for all
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s antidote for small businesses, taxpayers, infrastructure and the financial sector, must come as a shot in the arm for all concerned.
Besides, announcing a Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free loan scheme for MSMEs, the Finance Minister also doled out concessions to the salaried workers and taxpayers in the form of reduced TDS and tax collection at source - a 25 per cent cut for the next year.
Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), power distribution companies, contractors and the real estate industry also stand to gain from the largesse.
But what is worrying is that the government is yet to come out with a relief package for poor migrants battered by the lockdown.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
Use of thermal scanner post COVID
It is being said that post COVID-19, life will not be the same. Our lifestyle will undergo a drastic change. Mass gathering of people at wedding reception, funerals and public functions could well be a thing of the past. It is a fact that we will have to live with the coronavirus until such time that an effective vaccine is made available. Up until then we will have to take necessary precaution to avoid getting infected by the deadly virus. There will obviously be guests visiting our homes. It will be necessary to make it amply sure that these guests do not carry the virus. One way would be by checking their temperature using the thermal scanner. In residential buildings the security guard could be handed the task of checking the temperature of the guests using the thermal scanner gun. But individual homes may have to invest in a thermal scanner. Checking the temperature of guests could become the expected norm. India has commenced mass production of ventilators and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). It would be desirable for the government to also go in for mass production of thermal scanner guns so that they are easily available at the local pharmacy at an affordable price in the post COVID-19 world just like the common thermometer.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Protecting Goa from deadly coronavirus
This morning the people of Goa woke up to the terrifying news that 12 vehicles with outstation number plates were spotted by citizens outside a hotel in Calangute, and that six members of one family who travelled from Bombay, and one truck driver who had travel from Gujarat, tested positive after entering the state. Does this mean that Goa has lost its prized Green status?
This is indeed very scary, more so in view of the fact that it has been announced that trains will run from the hottest red zone in the country to Goa. Running a train from a hot spot Red zone, which should be sealed, so as to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to a Green zone, goes against all epidemiological, scientific, and logical principles of containment of the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
It is claimed that all precautions will be taken after the passengers disembark from the train in Goa. That is akin to saying that the stable doors will be slammed closed after the horse has run away. Ideally, there should be no passenger traffic from a hotspot Red zone into a Green zone. That, in the understanding of the public, is basic principle of containment of the coronavirus.
If for some extenuating reason, exceptions have be made to the scientific principles of epidemiology, the least that should be mandated is that any person exiting the Red zone should be checked by the RT PCR test, and allowed to board the train only after producing a negative RT PCR certificate from a government laboratory.
If, God forbid the virus enters Goa, the first victims who will be at risk will be the estimated 5000 medical care fraternity (doctors, nurses, hospital and health care workers) who are the front line warriors of the deadly Corona virus disease in Goa. God forbid, if the virus enters the community everyone will be at risk. Therefore it is still not too late for all governments and health authorities too quickly rise to the occasion and cancel the train. The bare minimum would be to prevent the transfer of passengers from the Red zone into a Green zone excepting those persons who have been tested and found to be negative.
Even this carries a small degree of risk because it is known that there is a 20% chance of a false negative report in a person who is actually harbouring the virus.
Should the entire population of Goa be put at risk, apparently , just to please a handful of persons who would like to come and rest and relax in a Green zone?
Rosario Menezes, Vasco-da-Gama
