Write a paragraph on lesson leant from pandemic
Answers
Explanation: COVID-19 is a mega-pandemic, if ever there was one. No other outbreak, even if it was called a pandemic by the World Health Organization, affected people in as many countries as this one has. Nothing in my lifetime (and I am 55 now) has ever caused the world to shut down. Every country that has tried to follow a different path, calibrated or otherwise, has discovered that a shutdown is inevitable. The impact was so swift and widespread that we were forced to learn new lessons and rediscover the value of some old ones much to our chagrin. Here are 11 lessons that we re-discovered or learnt. The list is by no means exhaustive but provides food for thought.
Shutdown works: Ebola didn’t kill millions when it occurred because the shutdown of the affected area was prompt and complete. Yet we did not learn. On this occasion we have experienced responses from world leaders that range from measured to downright idiotic. This let the virus spread throughout the world and turn vibrant cities into ghost towns. People had to be confined to their homes, factories had to be closed and the economy took a huge hit.
Hygiene helps: If any old lesson came handy during the COVID-19 crisis it was that hygiene helps. We have all been taught to wash our hands every time we’ve been to a place that could have disease causing germs, when we return home from outside and from time to time for good measure. Yet, if the upward graph of soap sales during the crisis is any indication, it was as if we were discovering the value of washing hands for the first time!
Focus is effective: We are taught the value of focus in everything we do. We have seen how focus on ensuring food security created the green revolution in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In recent times a focused approach led to the eradication of polio from the country and the creation of massive sanitation capacity in all parts of the country. Focus helps. Yet when it comes to making resources available for social development we follow the practice of too little, too late and in too many places. Little wonder that India languishes at the 129th rank in the Human Development Index (2019 report). The COVID-19 outbreak has shown, like never before, how focused action can lead to high social impact in a short period of time. Now that the crisis is blowing over, we might go back to our philandering ways of social development and it would be such a loss of a good lesson.
Society has a heart: The shutdown has, once again, shown us that society has a heart. We have seen individuals rise to the occasion and help elders take care of their daily needs, allow house-help to stay home without fear of their wages being affected, organisations come forward to manufacture personal protective equipment, provide meals from factory kitchens, and administration open up stadia and public buildings to provide space for those who need shelter or isolation. Central banks have brought in massive policy measures to help tide over the crisis and governments have provided the weaker sections of society with cash and food.