Let’s have a laugh !!

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Ruchi

It’s raining Coronavirus these days!

Ever since the virus mutated or jumped from it’s animal host to human ( Thanks to deforestation, poaching and everything else we do to destroy the natural reservoirs ), the world has not been the same place.

Early Jan when the news from Wuhan started pouring, everyone was scared. Rightly so, here was a disease cause by a never heard virus. The panic, the fear was palpable in every nook and corner.

Dubai is a true cosmopolitan. Name a country and you will find that nationality here. So, the city was on alert. It doesn’t help that Filipinos too look like Chinese, and prejudiced as humans are there was a sudden fear as if the disease was caused by Chinese not Coronavirus.

All kinds of mask came out on display. It was hilarious to see people wearing N95 masks. For those who don’t know, N95 is a special type of mask used to protect one from hazardous materials or to be used when caring for someone ( close contact ) who has airborne infection like chicken pox, measles etc. Wearing an N95 even for the time of duty is difficult because you are hardly able to breathe. So how people on roads were wearing them was a difficult question to answer.

My car had gone for servicing and I had to use public transport sometime during Jan mid. I felt safe travelling, as everyone wore mask, so no chance of anyone passing even flu to me.

The way masks were worn is another story in itself. Some would just cover the mouth. ( May be the nose is just for ornamental purpose in them.)

Once I and my husband went to buy grocery. There was a girl with mask trotting in front of us. For the first few minutes, she tried to adjust her mask, fiddling with the mask, inside and outside as well. A few seconds later she just removed it and put it in her purse. God knows what organisms the mask would encounter by the time she puts it back on her face.

For the first time in my life, I found President Trump say something sensible. “Wash your hands, don’t touch your face, don’t touch doorknobs, don’t touch handrails.” Was a sensible advise. However, since it comes from Trump, it landed more in controversy.

We have been already 2 months into the pandemic, and the quarantine has been more or less failure. The virus is contagious, nevertheless the disease is mild. Yes the current death rate is high because it is skewed. It does not include the asymptomatic or milder infections which would not have been tested. The disease is serious for elderly or those with a pre-existing medical condition. Those are the people we need to keep safe.

The world is following up with more quarantine which is only going to cause a collapse of world economy. Already, we have started feeling the crunch. China is one of the major producers of the world and with it shut down, except coronavirus everything has come to standstill.

What we need is more of Common Sense. Yes and a better personal hygiene. If you are sick, please don’t rush to work and make others sick. The companies at this time should support rather than squeezing the employees with salary cuts, in case of sickness.

Don’t travel where it is already rampant is a sensible advise. Avoid crowded places, if it’s already in your city/town.

Wash your hands, and don’t keep touching surfaces, face, nose, mouth and so. I myself have realized that touching nose is so so common.

Stay away from someone who’s sick. Cover your cough. Cover your sneeze. If you do want to use a mask, make sure it covers nose as well as face, and don’t touch it please. And change it once wet. No N95 please, it’s going to cause you to breathe your own carbon dioxide causing respiratory depression.

I’m known for loud sneezes and in repeat. ( Thanks to my allergies ). The other day, I had this sneezing bout in a supermarket and the entire population turned to look at the culprit.

Let’s hope the virus is not as hardy and doesn’t survive our hot summers !! Stay safe till then