The Covid curse

If we had thought the coronavirus pandemic was to be a short-lived affair, back when it was reported in January this year, we were wrong. Though cases had been heard of in Wuhan well before this date, it was around the beginning of the year when the world was overtaken. And the waves continue. There are currently indications that the rate of Covid-19 is going up as winter comes in, bringing with it the much-dreaded flu season. We know that only a vaccine will stop the pandemic, which is regarded as the world's largest crisis in current years and possibly since World War II.

The issue for decision-makers has been an almost impossible one – save the economy or save lives. To do both appears to be impossible. There have been more than one million deaths due to the virus all over the globe. We do not know how many more there will be with the death rate beginning to go up once again in Europe, where it is being reported in hundreds and also in Latin America, where many countries have been badly stricken, and their economies completely paralyzed. In America, for all its technology, there are 7.31 million Covid cases reported so far, and 208000 deaths. Where all this will end, we do not know. What is clear is that the virus makes no distinction between the influential, the powerful and the poor. US President Donald Trump has been asked to quarantine for 14 days after testing positive for Covid-19, probably having come in contact with a staffer who had contracted the virus. The irony is not lost on anyone, given Trump's policy of ignoring that the virus exists and holding rallies at which people wear no masks, or observe any kind of social distancing. The issue is that we all need to follow social distancing and other SOPs, if there is to be any hope of controlling the virus.

In Pakistan, there have been over 300,000 cases and over 6000 deaths. This is a respectable performance compared to other countries. There are studies continuing even now about the possibility of some level of herd immunity or other factors such as the strain of the virus that hit the country. None of that, however, is proven or has any basis in anything other than speculation. In neighbouring India, the number of people affected goes into millions. The virus in many ways remains a mystery. We can only hope that before very long, scientists will find a vaccine that can protect us all and allow us to return to some semblance of normal life and normal activity.