The Attack of the Alien that has turned the world upside down

The attack by the coronavirus on mankind seems to be an attack of the alien. The virus it seems has come from another world that has rocked our planet like never before. On one hand, people suffering from the virus are getting sick while on the other hand the economic growth of nearly all the countries has come to a halt.

Recently I also came under the attack of the alien and got quarantined for nearly a month. God was kind and I came out of the attack of the alien without getting injured much. Since recovery, I have become extra cautious about the prevention protocols. Covering the face with a mask and washing hands frequently has become a ritual not only for me but also for the family.

The alien will attack those who are careless

One day my son-in-law asked me to accompany him to a car dealership as he was to take delivery of a new car. It was my first outing after a month. While he was busy with the paperwork, I was sitting in the waiting lobby with my wife and daughter. A family of three had come to buy a new car and one of the salesperson was attending them. The husband was a bit casual with his guards down. He was wearing a gamcha (cotton muffler) leaving his nose uncovered. The wife and the daughter had lowered their mask to speak to the salesman.

While observing them I got a call from one of my friends inquiring about my health. I told him that I have fully recovered from Covid and my quarantine is over. The moment the family heard that I was an ex-covid patient their mask was back on the faces and they immediately disappeared. My question to people like this is that if they are so much bothered about getting attacked by the alien virus than why not have the mask in place and take precautions.

The numbers are climbing again in India with daily cases of 80000 plus patients every day. It may soon touch a lakh per day. The country is reporting the highest number of patients daily across the world.

What I witnessed on the road

Last week I had to visit HDFC bank in Delhi to reset the rate of interest of my housing loan. The author is under the burden of a housing loan for the last 10 years for a property in Jaypee’s Wish Town. The loan carries on but the house is nowhere in sight. The bank is busy minting money by adding interest to the principal amount during the loan moratorium. The government is looking the other way while RBI has washed their hands-off. Poor customers who are under the housing loan debt are on verge of a collapse with only a Supreme court to their rescue.

While going to the bank I watched a lot of street vendors standing on the roadside selling fruits. One of the vendors selling mangoes was without a mask attending to a customer who had just parked his Verna on the side and busy selecting the Safeda (a mango variety) with his mask down. There was another attendant to assist the vendor who was standing without a mask.

The onus of reminding the semi-literate or the illiterate migrant labours is on the customers who are well educated and understand that the only way to overcome the spread of the virus is a precaution. Alas, the educated class only thinks about the welfare of their family and not the society at large.

Be careful and not careless to avoid the attack of the alien

On one of the crossings, while waiting for my light to turn green, I was approached by a few girls selling flowers. Not a single one of them was wearing a mask. I rolled my window down and shouted at them on why they were not wearing a mask. Immediately they replied Babu (Sir) please give us some money for the mask. My wife was not happy with my action. Today in the morning while coming back from cycling I saw a taxi driver spitting on the road. I immediately stopped and reprimanded him for doing so.

The reason I am quoting these examples is that we all will face such situations daily. The way forward for not becoming a victim is to become a guard first. Self-discipline is a must but disciplining the society is also our responsibility. The alien while attacking is not going to check the literacy levels and the income levels of people. It will attack the careless especially the ones who think that they are invincible. The only way to avoid the alien attack is to be careful rather than being careless.

The attack of this alien virus is still not understood by the medical community

One positive thing to look at it is that despite a high rate of infections in India, the mortality rate is much lower than the world. The numbers indicate that in August the number of people who got infected in India was the highest in the world. The good sign is that our mortality rate is still lower. This means that on one hand our medical fraternity is doing a good job and on the other, our community is more resilient.

The virus has affected the lungs of a few patients who had developed severe breathing problems during the infection. There are cases where patients have reported a loss of appetite, weakness, and palpations. On a close examination, doctors have found inflammation of the heart, a symptom known as myocarditis. Patients who have recovered are also reporting about body fatigue and tiredness. Our honourable home minister Shri Amit Shah was also one of them who got readmitted to AIIMS after recovery. It seems that the virus is still an alien for the medical fraternity to understand.

The virus will not go away so easily

The vaccine is still a few months away. Till that time the only way to survive the attack of the alien is to take precautions. If you see somebody without the mask just gently remind him that his health is at risk. Discourage people from spitting on the road. People jogging or walking with their mask down should be penalized by the RWA’s. The migrant labours who have a casual approach to wearing masks and washing hands have to be dealt firmly by the society as well as the authorities.

Be safe, stay at home as far as possible, and take all precautions while in a crowded place.

To know how you can avoid getting infected by coronavirus click on the following link: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

You can enjoy reading more such stories on my blog. Click on the following link:

The Quarantine story of the author infected by the coronavirus

The Quarantine Lessons from the author who became a victim