Horrible, Disastrous, Uncertain, bleak future, no hope in sight. These are the words that would probably come out, if the common man on the ground, is queried now. But is this the end of the world, that we must all burrow our heads in fear and wallow in self pity ? Is there no light at the end of the tunnel, proverbially speaking ? The answer is a whopping ‘No’, irrespective of the doomsday scenario looming large,even though the scale of economic destruction and the cascading trail on our social fabric, that Corona is leaving may be unprecedented. When Corona first emerged, it cast a noose around the society and undeniably, with every single passing day, the noose is getting tighter around the neck, with more people becoming victims to it & falling like leaves. Earlier the infirm & old ones with pre-existing co-morbid conditions were under the scanner ( they continue to be vulnerable), but now irrespective of age, gender, color & creed, the death list has them all. The virus appears to be more just in it’s distribution, than we humans have ever been  & shows no bias or prejudice. How do we deal with a virus like this, which is determined to clean up one third of all humanity and reset the World Population Clock ? 
There is a lot of action going on across governments to develop a vaccine for the Virus and the race for it is getting hotter. However, whether there is a concerted approach among governments, is a question that still remains largely unsatisfactorily unanswered. Day in & Day out , news trickles in, of either the ‘Sputnik’ vaccine not triggering an adequate immune response as it was expected to, or a temporary pause in the ‘Oxford’ Vaccine development because of hitting a few roadblocks. Vaccine development against the backdrop of a virus that has clearly mutated, from the time it first appeared, is no mean task. The World has not forgotten the innumerable viruses, that have plagued the African continent over decades – Ebola, Zika etc against which, we still don’t have confirmed vaccines. These viruses petered down on their own. Of course, there have been several experimental vaccine candidates which were tried on many, but none that has been licensed so far, for mass production. Are we staring at a similar fate for Corona ? I don’t want to hazard a guess now, but I have a bad feeling, that it is going to be the case ! How do we live in a world with Corona & what is our best ammunition to protect our people ? Unprecedented situations & times demand an unprecedented action plan.The following come to mind :

1. Public Sanitation & Civic Hygiene :  You cannot shut yourself inside for ever, out of fear of the virus. Eventually, you will need to step out to work and make the economy tick. Testing, contact tracing, more testing, isolation, quarantine & treatment is fine and needs to continue on a war footing. More than all that we need to break the chain, aim for herd immunity and ensure that we stem the spread. Our public places, parking lots, roads, offices, schools, hospitals, parks, stadia, subways, public transit points , buses, trams, trains, planes, airports, railway stations, bus depots etc all need to be constantly fumigated, scrubbed and cleaned with Monopersulphate Compound or Sodium Hypochlorite. This must become part of the daily routine. While this will be easy to implement in western countries with robust well oiled muncipal systems, the developing & third world countries have no option but to institutionalize this process and make this part of their DNA, if they want to beat the virus. If you are pinning all hopes on a vaccine that will come and be the panacea to this crisis, then you are living in a fool’s paradise. This is also an Opportunity in disguise, especially the developing world to develop and implement a healthy living concept for it’s masses, where cleanliness, public sanitation, civic hygiene become the gold standard and everyone takes collective ownership of the same. If a mass immunization campaign like the one for Polio can succeed, then there is no reason why this won’t. It’s all about the willingness & determination of governments along with private partnership and full public endorsement to make this happen.

2. Social Distancing : The oxymoron that the word is , the concept is not foolish : Social distancing is here to stay and can be a life saver going forward, Corona or no Corona. Crowding in public places, that we see in several countries, especially the developing world with no respect for one’s personal space will need to go and become a thing of the past. People will need to be educated vide a mass public campaign on the health benefits of steering clear of another’s private space and not being exposed to what they expel from their natural orifices. They need to be educated to keep distance from each other while standing in a line, commuting in public transport or interacting with one another at their workplace or simply while enjoying a football match. All construction of buildings and public amenities must factor provision for adequate social distancing, so that this becomes a habit by design and is not optional any more. Today there is Corona, tomorrow there could be something else. It will be wise to be future ready.

3. Personal Hygiene & Health Education : Mandatory Health Education and personal hygiene classes for everyone. This must not only become a part of all school & college curricula, but also become part of ongoing ‘Continuing Education‘ (CE) courses for employees working in both private & public organizations. These need to be made mandatory for all employees and credits need to be awarded for the same. These Credits must become essential for career progression and increments. We need a well rounded, health conscious population, which will appreciate and understand the need to stay clean, healthy and follow social distancing norms in public. And a beginning can be made if we start now and in the right away, so that in an individual’s life cycle irrespective of what skills he learns, acquires , develops and in due course of time forgets, he remembers his or her lessons on personal hygiene and health for life.

4. An ‘all hands on the deck‘ approach with Universalization of Medical Education : There are several first world countries with a very low population growth rate or a declining birth rate, which rely on immigrant labour force. Immigration is central to running their economies, in the wake of an ageing workforce. However the irony of the whole thing is that they do not recognize professional degrees obtained from another country like human medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, nursing etc without licensing them again. While a license is mandatory to practise in these professions anywhere in the world, the journey to obtain a license takes almost half a decade and practically involves re-inventing the wheel all over, for students and immigrant health care practitioners with prior experience in their field, in their native country, involving an almost repeat education, encompassing studying again and sitting for exams. This is a colossal waste of precious years and resources, where several talented and experienced doctors and nurses, end up being of no use in their new countries, for a long time ( some eventually give up and either return back in frustration or do something else ) simply because the system fails to recognize and utilize their talents and abilities, for want of a local medical education degree. This is counter productive, especially when you have already had a formal education and possess a degree. You cannot be deemed second class professionals simply because your degree is from a second or third world country. Remember, these professionals would have slogged their way up in their native countries to get admission in those medical, veterinary, dental or nursing colleges and would be some of the best minds amongst their population, to have earned those degrees. While they may not have any experience of a first world hospital setting, they would know as much as the others locally, about their subject. Besides, they will bring with them experience of working in a hospital setting in their native countries of origin. Also, don’t forget , at the same time ,while the system tags them as ‘not ready for practise ‘ in their new countries, tourists or foreigners who visit these second world countries, when sick or for medical tourism get treated very well and attended to by the same doctors and nurses !  The same doctors attend international conferences and seminars during which they exchange ideas and learning, with their counterparts in the West. Ironically, if they decide to practise in the other’s country, the journey becomes next to impossible. It is our loss if we cannot assimilate them into the system faster, so that they can start contributing to the health sector and the larger economy. When the world needs more doctors and especially in a situation like this, where we are facing the ills of Corona, which warrants’all hands on the deck‘, it is important that countries which welcome immigrant doctors, veterinarians & nurses have a simpler path to fast track their entry into the system, within 6 months. They should be licensed with a basic examination and mandatorily made to intern with a local practise, under supervision, before being allowed to see patients independantly. It is important that medical education is universally accepted, acknowledged and recognized.

5. Wearing a Mask in Public & carrying a Sanitizer : While it goes without saying now, this may sound weird in a post Corona world. But it will make sense to continue with this practise, as a recommendation , especially if one is not well & carries a respiratory ailment. This must become a norm and endorsed by governments and health department officials. Staying covered , constant hand washing and sanitizing our hands will help curtail the chain of transmission of several air borne infections and also protect the ones with poor immunity from contracting an infection. The mask & the ubiquitous hand sanitizer has anyway become part of our garb and culture and it is better that they stay as essential accessories in our bags, long after Corona is gone.

The World is facing a pandemic of epic proportions and it is silently alerting mankind to get back to the drawing board and chalk out a new public- private health plan and policy. Let us not miss the bus, in the wait for the vaccine.

Oct 3rd 2020