Thursday, March 12, 2020

The time to prepare is now, but it is surely running out…

...

A news piece dated Jan 3, 2020 shared update on a viral infection. In Wuhan "the health authorities had reported an unexplained viral pneumonia that sickened 59 people with no deaths till date, but with some people critical…" 

It also went on declaring that "it is highly unlikely that this outbreak will lead to a major [SARS-like] epidemic.."

Now, hop over and see the latest Covid-19 world stats here -> https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html

People In January who read that article or were hearing the news for the Coronavirus spread at that time were thinking that… 'ah, this is nothing but the flu', 'it won't come to our country/state/city', 'we are all safe', and many other self comforting thoughts.. 

The sad thing is that even in March 2020, some people still are in their false cocoons of comfort... even with the stats which stand as below (as on date 13 March 2020) -
> Coronavirus Cases: 134,803
> Deaths: 4,984
[Note: India centric stats here - https://www.ncovirus.in/]

I agree that panic is not the solution, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared!

Preparation is vital folks! Not preparing now is being plain foolish!

As a well wisher, I urge all who are reading to kindly try and do this -
  1. Stock on your essentials as per your needs. Remember, stock, not hoard;
  2. Avoid all unnecessary travel, gatherings and outings;
  3. If you have small kids, teach them basic hygiene and tell them NOT to touch their face, tell them what we are up against! Also the best hand wash practice (Happy B'day song or 20 seconds!). A best case scenario would be to limit their exposure;
  4. Try to stay indoors, and avoid contact with people who recently returned from any cross border travels;
  5. Keep all elderly (> 60 years) people in check, report for treatment asap in cases of symptoms like -
    • Fever
    • Cough
    • Shortness of breath
  6. When in doubt wash your hands!
  7. Keep a sanitizer bottle at hand (alcohol strength > 65%). Remember, please use only when hand wash is not an option;
  8. The symptoms of this infection are similar to flu. But, a person can be contagious for several days before having any symptoms. So this is a tricky one, awareness/pro-activeness is key!
  9. If you feel any symptoms coming, avoid a physician visit, but please report as per the local / state protocols!
  10. Remember! Don't be afraid of quarantining! The only way to fight this is rapid isolation!
I also urge you to please help spread this awareness.. The only way to fight this is stop it from spreading... so be aware and #FlattenTheCurve

And to all the people who still think otherwise.. Stay safe and stay alive (try to at least). /s