Coronavirus: The World Must Unite In Its Fight

A lot has happened. And that too in a short span of time. A few weeks ago, everyone outside China was worried about the quarantined cruise ships. No one at that stage would have thought that, just in a few days, the virus may be knocking at the doorsteps. Now there is fear and it is real. There seems to be chaos everywhere – Whether it is the authenticity of facts being shared, the crash in the global stock markets or the uncertainty that looms for small (and large) businesses worldwide.

Being a father of two kids, I am obviously worried about them. I am also worried about my parents who are in late 60s. Over the last few days, both me and my wife have been educating everyone to take necessary precautions. Where I live, there hasn’t been any confirmed case yet; however, it just appears to be a matter of time before we hear the dreaded news. I went to a hospital today to meet one of my relatives and I could see everyone worried. It is a great sign that some people are taking precautions; at best, what you can do in your individual capacity is to be aware of your surroundings and maintain the basic personal hygiene. However, at the same time, it is obvious that a lot more is required if the world stands any chance of fighting it out.

Hats off to WHO – guys, you are doing a fantastic job keeping us updated. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Well done again! Delivering at home coronavirus tests. All researchers across the globe– You must keep working hard and you must know that you could end up being the savior.  

Despite all the efforts being put in by several organizations, the failure (if indeed it is a failure) will be not because we weren’t able to develop a vaccine in time but primarily because some of us have been selfish (e.g. by not revealing our travel history OR by ignoring the flu symptoms) and inadvertently becoming an agent spreading the virus further. This to me appears to be the biggest roadblock in the fight against this impending pandemic. Do you care about humanity? For the first time, at least in my lifetime, I feel that I (and you) have a major role to play in preventing a major disaster unfolding on this planet. And I’ll fight it out. We all must fight it out together. Let’s take up this moral responsibility by just being more aware of what it is and force ourselves not to become the agents in spreading this further. If we are united in this fight, the victory will be ours even if it takes some time and patience to get to the other side!