Today, the COVID-19 pandemic is widespread and hardly any nation is decoupled. No one is an exception and it has impacted every human being directly and/or indirectly. Indeed, humans are passing through the most troubling time of living memory, while various international bodies (like WHO), governments and healthcare systems are taking necessary steps to overcome the pandemic. In this roundtable interview I am fortunate to bring the perspective from individuals covering Asia, Europe & Middle East representing a frontline health care professional, a retired-bureaucrat, a business professional, an economist, housemaker, teacher, and student.
Interview with Medical Professional:
Dear Doctor, can you please run-me through medical perspective on COVID19, what precautions one should take, and how can we empower our immune system to fight COVID 19? And, what are the treatment options we have now and when to expect vaccine for the COVID19?
COVID19 is a viral illness like Common cold, Flu, HIV. These viral illnesses need human/animal host to survive and replicate. To build up your immune system you should follow a healthy lifestyle i.e. eat healthy including fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of fluids, regular exercise and stop smoking and consuming alcohol. For COVID19 it is hard to detect asymptomatic patients as they are ‘asymptomatic’ i.e. with no symptoms. It is therefore best to keep a ~ 2-meter distance, wash your hands regularly and wear masks.
Most patients with COVID19 will have mild to moderate symptoms like common cold. Their immune system will fight the virus and they will just need symptomatic treatment with paracetamol etc., and they should be isolated for 7 days to 14 days. Only few patients require hospitalization and life support. There is some evidence that a commonly used steroid drug is now known to accelerate recovery in these ventilated patients. There is no antiviral drug so far. Vaccines are being researched all over the world, but it will be a while before they are commercially available.
Kindly tell us about your working environment and occupational hazards you have to encounter.
The duty-load of Doctors remain almost same. Thanks to the Government’s visionary healthcare policy – despite 300,000+ COVID19 infections and 40,000+ deaths there is neither fatigue on medical-professionals nor over-load on healthcare infrastructure. Video calls and e-consult platforms are widely adopted - hence, doctors need not see patients face to face. With a new standard operating policy in place the Doctors and healthcare professionals are required to wear PPE and other precautional gear. In general, the Doctors and Healthcare professionals are well protected. Nevertheless, when we have to physically examine COVID19 patients we take extra precautions.
Interview with School Teacher:
Good day Madam. As a Teacher how are you coping up with COVID19? Do you think the CBSE curriculum is appropriate for on-line classes ? In 'on-line platform teaching' what considerations you are taking ?
With COVID-19 pandemic in place, new rules have been set up and have been adapted to. These times require me to learn new skills whilst presenting new challenges. In order to effectively deliver teaching content, I have learnt certain computer skills that I did not have before. In my personal opinion CBSE curriculum can be taught effectively online as well, there are more options to make classes interesting including playing videos and showing pictures. The course content is suitably presented in Power Point presentations which give a visual impact to students.
The challenge comes in making sure all the children are involved as they are in their own homes, in order to address this the teachers are adopting on-line cold calls - a different measures such as calling on various children to switch on video and microphone so that they are able to answer questions even in the middle of a discussion. In order to measure the learning outcome and to engage the students, frequent online assignments tests are scheduled beside several practice tests as a form of "surprise online test". Furthermore, as everyone is working on-line the internet connectivity is an issue. This is an ongoing challenge which can only be completely solved when uninterrupted connectivity can be established.
Interview with Retired-Bureaucrat:
Dear Sir, the young ones and older people are most vulnerable to threats and challenges of COVID19. Although, all age groups are at risk of contracting COVID19 - in this context what is your view on school opening ?
Opening of schools, later this year is risky as well as controversial as children are thought to be asymptomatic spreaders. It is also harder for kids to maintain 2-meter distance from their friends and teachers. This could be putting their teachers and families at risk. The schools will need a lot of financial support and extra teachers and staffs to support the opening of schools. This is going to be difficult. However, the longer the schools are closed, safer is the child’s health.
What is your view on various health policies given the immense economic cost?
In general, the Government policies focus towards generating Herd Immunity so that people will not get the disease. Health safety is the key concern as COVID19 spreads through droplets and by touching surfaces. The main solution has been to keep people separate from each other and washing hands. In my country there was a ‘lockdown’ for about 8 weeks. This meant people were unable to interact and therefore infect others. Widespread availability of COVID testing has helped specially in tracking the spread. However, lockdown cannot be a long term solution due to the economic implications therefore once normalcy returns, public should be sensible and avoid contact with others, maintain ~2-meter distance and continue frequent hand wash.
Interview with Home-maker:
How is COVID19 effecting your day to day routine?
The COVID19 has had both pros and cons. Positive aspect is that I do not require to get up early and get the kids ready for school and prepare their tiffin but yes, I have to wake them up for their online classes. Husband also has to work from home, so I have to keep the routine of preparing three meals plus in between snacks. These days maids are not coming so my work has been extra by doing cleaning and washing due to which I do not have any free time left for me.
Interview with Class XI Student:
How are u keeping up with COVID19 ?
My initial response was - well the laundry is going to pile up now, but now it is all about new form of online classes. Being in the 11th Grade, my priorities in education is only set up for online class, complete it and go back to sleep. While higher education institutions are facing severe recession due to lack of student admission, technical education is transforming through online platform. This is a vicious cycle. that effects everybody. Indeed, COVID19 has hampered everyone’s life, but if we all stick together (social distancing) then we definitely will get through this pandemic.
Interview with Economist:
Dear Sir, what is your view on COVID-19 and what is next?
The outbreak of the pandemic has had a severe impact on mankind. This has been one of the most perilous disasters since the 1918 Flu epidemic. It has ravaged the world and infected more than 8.7 million lives and has led to the death of nearly half million people and still growing. The pandemic has a severe impact on global health. This has caused a dual crisis in health and economy. This has a range of implications across the national and international boundaries and social and political disruptions. There have been plenty of policy response to stop the spreading of COVID-19; countries around the world have implemented several public health and social measures, such as movement restrictions, closure of schools and businesses, and international travel restrictions. These policy measures have restricted epidemic mutations rates, but this strategy has also led to a steep decline in the global economy and unemployment rates.
Countries across the globe must navigate this challenging time with positive and matured leadership to overcome this challenge. Looking ahead, safely getting back to business is not important for the health of the economy, but for the livelihood of individuals as well. This requires proper safety measures, government guidelines and ample testing and coordination.