Corona Virus : What will happen if there is a coronavirus outbreak in India?

 What is Coronavirus and how does it spread?

The first cases were identified at the tail end of 2019 in Wuhan, the capital city of China’s Hubei province, when hospitals started seeing patients with severe pneumonia. Like the viruses that cause MERS and SARS, the new coronavirus appears to have originated in bats, but it’s not clear how the virus jumped from bats to humans or where the first infections occurred. Often, pathogens journey through an intermediary “animal reservoir”—bats infect the animals, and humans come into contact with some product from that animal. That could be milk or undercooked meat, or even mucus, urine, or feces. For example, MERS moved to humans through camels, and SARS came through civet cats sold at a live animal market in Guangzhou, China.

Scientists don’t know why some coronaviruses have made that jump but others haven’t. It may be that the viruses haven’t made it to animals that humans interact with, or that the viruses don’t have the right spike proteins so they can’t attach to our cells. It’s also possible that these jumps happen more often than anyone realizes, but they don’t cause serious reactions, so no one notices.

Researchers are still trying to understand how SARS-CoV-2 spreads between humans. The virus has a two- to 14-day incubation period, so people could be infectious for quite a while before symptoms like fever, cough, or shortness of breath emerge.

Right now, CDC officials say Americans shouldn’t panic. The risk of getting Covid-19 is pretty low in this country, so you don’t need to run out and buy a face mask this instant—you really shouldn't, actually, because that depletes supplies for the health professionals who need them. The agency recommends some more basic precautions: Avoid travel to China, wash your hands, and cover your mouth when you cough. The virus also can’t survive for long out in the open, so you can’t catch it from, say, opening a package sent from China.

Here are the ten reasons why Covid-19 is the most dangerous disease humanity has ever seen.

Point 1:

The virus takes upto 14 days to show the symptoms. Unknowingly, an infected person spreads the virus in these 14 days.

Point 2:

If you are admitted in hospital. It will take a minimum of 14 days to confirm that you have recovered. Fourteen days is a considerable time. It can lead to a shortage of beds in the hospital.

Point 3:

Once a person catches the infection, his entire circle is quarantined. Now just imagine, if 1000 people are infected, how many people you will quarantine? What if 10,000 people are infected, how will you manage?

Point 4:

Spread of disease is not blood to blood or sexual contact, where we can limit the transmission. It spreads through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, which is rapid and hardly controllable.

Point 5:

Yes, young people have higher chances of recovery but think 2000 young people fighting to get a bed in a hospital. This is a situation of Italy, where the Italy government is preferring the treatment of young people over old ones.

Point 6:

We don't have drugs to treat the disease.

Point 7:

We don't have a vaccine to prevent it.

Point 8:

Countries are not able to test a large number of people, as the disease is new.

Point 9:

A lot of doctors are getting infected. Due to this, it is further causing a shortage of doctors to treat.

Point 10:

Shut down is the best possible option we have. But think, we are in the initial stage, therefore, can afford to shut down the nation. However, scientist are saying vaccine or drugs will be available in a year. You cannot lock down the whole country for such a long period. Locking down for 15 days is useful, but it will not wipe the virus.

So, in Humanity VS Coronavirus battle, Humans have absolutely no advantage. Am worried.

What will happen if there is a coronavirus outbreak in India?

The standard definition of an outbreak in epidemiology is defined as “a sudden increment in occurrences of a disease in a particular time & place. It may affect a small and localized group or influence upon thousands of people across an entire continent.”

Even four associated cases of a unique infectious disease can be sufficient to constitute an outbreak.

So, if we go solely by the definition, India has 82,000+ cases(as of May 15) and the nation is witnessing a major outbreak. But if we compare that with the population of 135+ crore people the country has, it can be said that India has not seen a major outbreak till now. The scorching summers have given the country a natural shield in most parts by weakening the transmission of the virus.

After 2 phases of stringent lockdown (where many parts of the country failed to follow the social distancing norms), the experts are being more vocal about “herd immunity” as the only option, given the sheer size of the population and inadequate testing rate and medical facilities(read ventilators) to treat critical patients. The third phase of the lockdown saw the government demarcating areas into Containment, Red, Orange, and Green zones and resuming economic activities based on the threat level.

But, the damage has already been done by the lockdown. According to economists, approximately 100 million people have lost their jobs during the lockdown. Whenever an economic catastrophe happens, the lowest strata of people are hit first and it starts a chain reaction which then starts spiraling upwards. The NDA government has taken a bold step by announcing a package that amounts to 10% of the GDP, but it is probably a little late.

Thousands of migrant workers are in trouble and they are the workforce that drives the economic engine. As more and more states want to come out of the Corona fatigue and restart the economy, they are tweaking labor laws to make up for the loss. However, the lockdown has already burnt a 1 lakh crore hole in the pocket of the states and the demand has waned globally which will have a massive impact on the manufacturing sector. Many foreign multinational companies are planning to shift their bases from China as the country is bearing the brunt of report suppression during the early stages of the pandemic. India can become the next manufacturing hub of the world if the government eases the red tapes on the industry protocols and eases the land and labor regulations.

In this grim scenario, the only hope is that the Indian economy has traditionally been resilient to global shocks because of the robust internal demand. The government has to ramp up testing by several notches as reverse migration will cause a spike in COVID-19 cases across the country. India also needs to be self-reliant in the production of protective gear.

Is there a treatment for the Coronavirus?

Treatment are available but that are not complete treatments for this virus. We are fighting against this virus. All countries are using different different ways to fight against the virus.

Some countries are also making vaccines for the virus. Recently UK made a vaccine and started testing on humans. According to Oxford University if everything will go accordingly they can provide the vaccine till the 2021.

Now we have the one and best option till vaccine or any perfect treatment is not available we should follow the rules given by WHO.

Read them one more time it may help you.

Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and others. Because when someone coughs, sneezes, or speaks they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person has the disease.

Avoid going to crowded places. Why? Where people come together in crowds, you are more likely to come into close contact with someone that has COIVD-19 and it is more difficult to maintain physical distance of 1 metre (3 feet).

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and infect you.

Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately and wash your hands.

Stay home and self-isolate even with minor symptoms such as cough, headache, mild fever, until you recover. Have someone bring you supplies. If you need to leave your house, wear a mask to avoid infecting others.

Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.

If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention, but call by telephone in advance if possible and follow the directions of your local health authority.

Keep up to date on the latest information from trusted sources, such as WHO or your local and national health authorities.

These are some simple tips which can help you to get rid of this virus. we need to just break the chain.