Witoubou Newmai
The gathering of the global storm from the Coronavirus outbreak, officially renamed as COVID-19 and declared a pandemic, has thrown up issues of different dimensions, which may change the way we live today drastically for a while.
As the world chirps away with a sense of fear and forlornness, issues after issues are being manifested or proliferated unceasingly as humans try to adjust life while confronting the virus outbreak.
We notice that the world counts more on the health issue, which is a must of course, but what is counted on little are the dimensions of the virus outbreak which need to be deliberated to the desired effects.
News of crumbling of stock markets, with some commentators have gone hyperbole by terming it as ‘bloodbath,’ and counts of the virus victims have been updated on daily basis in public domains. However, the far-reaching manifestations of the issue and how we should do in hand what is appropriate and possible is least discussed.
“Stock markets bleed: Sensex down 3,200 points, Nifty slips below 10,000-mark” goes a headline in The Indian Express on Thursday. Closures of certain border gates or entry points, both international and domestic, by the administrations in their respective jurisdictions have also been reported in the media as near as in our backyard. The Mizoram and the Manipur governments, which share lengthy international borders, are pulling up loins in this regard. “Coronavirus pushes Indian poultry industry to its worst crisis,” stated another headline of The Indian Express on Thursday. “Italy shuts stores across country to fight coronavirus,” a media outlet ran this headline. “Google tells staff to work from home in North America and Europe,” this too is a newspaper headline on Thursday. Reports of ‘travel bans’ have also been widely circulated in the media. Educational institutions and cinema halls have also been shut in many parts of the world. Events or programmes concerning mass gathering have been discouraged or directed to stop in some parts of the world.
These are random-picks from among the various issues thrown up by the virus outbreak.
What all these developments, under the strain of the virus, would mean to us? Or, in what way will these issues change our ‘course of life’? No one is sure of what next except the usual culture of knee-jerk response at the moment, which is nothing but panic buying. Knee-jerk responses, including panic-buying, are never a solution but to create further chaos.
As not all people will find themselves in the same circumstances, there cannot be a single nature of measure to address the problem. Concerned authorities must further get their act together and start exhibiting genuine humility by way of providing guide in the chaos.
