On midnight of December 31, 2019 when we welcomed the New Year 2020 with open arms, no one in the wildest dream saw what was in store for humanity. Retrospective investigations by Chinese authorities have identified human cases with onset of symptoms in early December 2019. While some of the earliest known cases had a link to a wholesale food market in Wuhan. The full impact of the virus was felt in India and across the world in 2020.
The year was comparable to the year 1918 when thousands died due to the Spanish Flu. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease COVID-19.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Indeed COVID-19 has radically changed our lives. We had to live with the “new normal”. Lockdown became the order of the day for several months. People were confined to their homes. Visiting relatives and friends became impossible. People lost their jobs. Many businesses and establishments had to close shop. The worst affected were the migrant labourers and daily-wage workers. The country saw an exodus of migrants to their native villages. Many did not make it to their homes while others made it on foot, walking for hundreds of kilometres. Hospitals were converted to Covid care centres. Doctors, nurses, para-medical staff and others who worked tirelessly became Covid warriors. Containment zones became the order of the day. People were not allowed to move out of their locality. All hell broke loose as people could not lay their hands on the basic needs. However the worst part was that people in the country lost their lives in the thousands.
Elsewhere in the world the situation was even worse. Countries like the US, Italy, UK, to name a few saw people dying in the thousands. Prayer houses became out of reach of the common man. Mercifully the internet came to the rescue of people as masses in the churches were streamed live. Following the SOPs became the new normal. We probably never took washing our hands so seriously. Who ever thought that we would have to wear a face mask for a good part of 2020? Worst still we never heard nor knew what social distancing was all about. But then it takes a pandemic to introduce all this to humanity.
However the pandemic has also taught us a few lessons. It has taught us that in spite of all the advancement in science and technology mankind has achieved, we are defenceless in front of an invisible virus. It has shown us how vulnerable mankind is. During the lockdown we have also learnt the importance of our family. Family members have spent quality time together. As a matter of fact the virus has shown us how precious life is. Which we tend to take for granted. The threat from the virus is not yet over. It has mutated and become more dangerous. While 2020 was the year of the virus, 2021 could well be the year of the vaccine.
