Page 290 - Kolaj Sharodiya Review Edition

Well-timed medical care plays a significant role in improving the chance of recovery. Recently 25 out of 27 corona-patients from an old home in Hyderabad
(including both inmates and staff members) survived the infection. One of the survivors was an ex-freedom fighter aged 103 years. They were timely shifted
to different government hospitals.
An eminent physician wrote in a widely circulated daily a couple of months back that if a perfectly healthy person (having no known chronic ailment or
any undetected health problem) gets infected with the coronavirus, the chance of a major damage or disaster remains scanty. Thus, experts are advising
us not to get panicky. But nobody denies the importance of taking precautions (use of mask, physical distancing) against Covid -19. We must also avoid
joining a crowd (be it in a cinema hall, a playground or a place or worship) and using any air-conditioned room or vehicle. Additionally, we should resort to
our age-old practices of cleaning hands before taking anything (even a biscuit), changing clothes and washing hands and feet thoroughly after coming
home from outside, not touching mouth, nose and eyes without sufficient reason (e.g for applying medicines to nose and eyes or eating something). We
should also abstain from taking food in unhygienic environments. We must bear in mind that no sanitizer or germicide could be used as a substitute for
personal cleanliness. Simply by sticking to our traditional ideas of maintaining good hygiene, we could minimize the possibility of contracting many
infections including Covid-19.

While taking precaution against the infection, we should also take measures against irrational fear that is damaging our mental strength and building up
some abnormal attitudes (ostracizing corona patients, harassing somebody only out of suspicion that he is infected with the coronavirus) in our mind. Let us
bear in mind the revealing remarks of the veteran journalist Padmabhusan Prabhu Chawla in this context “….Indians have exceptionally high immunity and
resilience………As the nation chooses a Swasth Atmanirbhar Bharat, it should euthanise the beast of exaggeration that weakens the resolve to fight and win.
Don’t allow vicious numbers to do a number on people (The New Indian Express July 5,2020).
The author is a retired microbiologist, actively involved in public understanding of science.