Prevention is better than cure, especially, when there’s no confirmed cure yet.

Not sure if I’m going to make it to the next week. There’s Covid-19 scare all around us. My city is in lockdown. So are other cities and nations.

Indians eat a lot of Chinese and Italian food. Surprisingly, the other two countries are among the most affected ones. China reminds me of the perfect Indian daughter-in-law who could be going through tough times but no one can know. She is a creation of the daily soaps and a desire of many. I admire how the country handles its challenges. Italy is often mispronounced by Indians. Idli (or Idly) is a south Indian dish which brings about the confusion. Therefore, Italy becomes “Itaaly”. While China is focussed on finding all the Covid-19 positive suspects, Italy is celebrating its quarantine days. They found a way of empowering eachother by playing musical instruments and singing together from their balconies. The message has reached across the globe. The spirit of togetherness is winning hearts.

India came out on the streets on the day of “Janta Curfew” for applauding the dedication of the people working in the medical field, when instructed to stay indoors. The Prime Minister had invited all the citizens to come out in their balconies and clap or bang plates at 5pm. This country, where people are hiding their travel history to skip the test and/or quarantine days, forgets it’s a curfew day. The precautionary measures are ignored to applaud for the doctors, nurses and others. The public failed its own Prime Minister. An act of praise turned dangerous.

I am not very sure if the people who were being praised did really want such hailing at this sensitive stage. The act surely made many happy but it was probably not the best thing to do at the moment. Thinking of families who have lost their loved ones to this flu-like disease is frightening. People are still trying to accept that a health issue similar to flu is capable of taking away lives. Being in a state of lockdown and curfew, people still cannot fathom the seriousness of the situation.

Staying inside the house until the situation improves, I can only hope that people don’t have to learn this the hard way. The pandemic was unforeseen but the spreading can be controlled.