Relief from Covid-19

FEW people had then fathomed the import of the World Health Organisation’s highest level of alert issued on January 30, 2020, declaring a public health emergency amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In contrast, on Friday, more than three years later, when the WHO announced that Covid — which has till now left more than 6.9 million people dead worldwide — would not represent a global health emergency from May 11, it evoked a collective sigh of relief globally. Even though the statement comes with a cautionary note that it is not the end of the Covid threat, it mentions reassuringly that more virulent variants can be ruled out. We have gone through trying times as the pandemic ravaged our lives, leaving hardly anyone untouched, directly or indirectly. The newfound wisdom stems from our experience of a colossal tragedy; similar devastation was last witnessed during the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-20.

The catastrophe unleashed by the swiftly spreading coronavirus, enveloping the planet in its fold in devastating waves, was unstoppable despite lockdowns and vaccines. Unsuspecting infected people flying home or to work carried the deadly contagion far and wide. The multiple waves of the pandemic were marked by overburdened and overwhelmed hospitals and other public facilities, patients gasping for breath and medicine, unending rows of pyres burnt and graves dug. Compounding the problem were the economic disruptions as Covid caused losses worth trillions of dollars. The long-term effects continue as smaller waves keep erupting, while many people suffer from ‘long Covid’ symptoms, a condition that both doctors and patients are still grappling with.

Thus, Covid is here to stay, albeit with its bite weakened. We need to learn to live with it responsibly; now we are well prepared, thanks to the bitter lessons it has taught us. At every level — local, national and global — none should let their guard down.

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