By every deduction, every permutation and combination, and every unanswered, thrown in a trash can, prayer that one was summoning all along Gas’s tryst with destiny, seems pounding on our self-secured, creaky little doors. The virus is here and boy is it here! I have spoken to numerous colleagues in the medical fields of intensive care, cardiology, pulmonology, and general practice. By all accounts, Bombay has exploded. By what I’m learning, not officially confirmed however, is that ICUs and ventilators are chock-a-block with COVID patients. Serious, dying and many extremely critical. No mass cremations or burials yet, but that is no silver lining at all. The very fact that the government is taking over the Wankhede Stadium as a make-shift hospital, tells you how terror is so close to India’s financial heart.
The next two weeks will tell us if we join NYC or Madrid or Italy. Or we have some much required luck…or not.
Which then brings me to amchem Goem. With the opening of the economy, we could well be in the crosshairs of this relentless nightmare. Even a wretched virus can’t resist a Goa vacation, for some R&R. As usual, I shall give my pompous sermon on the mount, as to what we need to do, if anything can be done at all.
MORE POSITIVES
Brace yourself for a rapid surge of COVID positive cases as testing gets ramped up for all folk coming in from red zones. This is not necessarily catastrophic, but systems must be so freaking water-tight, at borders, train stations and airports, that every single person entering Goa must be tested, address identified, strictly home quarantined and report to the nearest health centre if sick. This is non-negotiable, even if you consider yourself the Prince of Burkina Faso or a seafarer from the princess of the seas.
TIC TAC TOE
Stop focussing on GMC and other hospitals for the moment. They are reasonably well equipped, staff motivated and serious case loads haven’t hit the fan. I urge the authorities to shift their entire resources to man the border and do a ruthless testing of all trickling in, VIP or desperate Goan trying to get in. The best cops, the best administrators, and the most efficient testing systems must be in place at these sites. Thank heavens those multiple TruMat machines were procured to be deployed. The isolation of these folk must happen at point of entry. Once you pick them from the community after they have had urrack and mangoes with fellow Goans, it will be time to head for the hills, for safety. But then all the hills have already been bulldozed by greedy builders.
RESPECT, RESPECT AND RESPECT
In these now crucial times, this is the real McCoy. All these two months was like a dress rehearsal for a kindergarten play. You will now desperately, desperately need your doctors, (especially the junior and senior residents and junior consultants) and the army of silent, uncomplaining nurses and the medical attendants who will be cleaning you up as you struggle on a ventilator. All your diamonds and political contacts will count for nothing once this circus truly pummels into town. So shut up and stop creating panic WhatsApp forwards just because you have enough time on your hands. Realise what these front line workers will be doing for you. And if you cannot recognise that by stealing reports of positive patients and then forward them gleefully, or suspend young residents and consultants because they head for lunch for 10 minutes, I sincerely suggest you keep those rose petals for yourself.
The same goes for disrespect to our hard-working cops on the streets and sanitation workers. Frankly I look forward to a giant tsunami wave engulfing the covidiots thronging the Goan beaches disrespecting every tenet of social distancing. Fools we always were. Can we be responsible fools at least?
IT’S THE ECONOMY
Paralysed by the fear of the virus, I strongly believe that the economy can’t be allowed to stall completely and go into a free fall. Of course, industry must kick start and so too must agriculture and fishing and perhaps limited mining. Tourism will sadly have to wait. Those of us who have steady jobs and incomes can holler lockdown, lockdown, lockdown like pampered banshees. Those who run the risk of not putting food on the table in a month or two, wouldn’t agree. So the economy, a better imagined one, must open. But the strict caveat must be that employers follow rules, strictly quarantine returning employees, without cutting corners only because they can pull a few political strings.
POST SCRIPT
The virus is here big time people, it is going to create mayhem, no question. The point is that the entire political class and the citizenry must act responsibly to motivate, support the front line staff and strictly adhere to SOP (whichever VIP you are). Get this one interesting fact: Besides the elderly who are vulnerable, the 45 to 60 group being felled in the Americas are by and large obese or morbidly obese individuals with poor lung reserve. So in the interest of self-serving and self-preserving politicos, most of whom you wouldn’t classify as a Tiger Shroff, it’s in your interests to have all hands on deck, stop tweaking rules for your favourites and learn to genuinely respect the front line workers.
If Shakespeare were to write this he’d call it ‘The Merchant of Venom’ and the merchant is here knocking on our doors and it is going to be a long, long ‘summer of discontent’.
