Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Updated : May 14, 2020 3:51 PM IST
Social distancing is one of the ways by which you can prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep yourself safe.
COVID-19 has raised questions about the way we will live from now on. If the World Health Organisation is to be believed, this disease may never go away just like other deadly diseases like HIV and ebola. This means that we will be returning to a new reality once lockdown is lifted. This deadly contagion has counfounded experts and health professionals alike. The race for a vaccine is on and currently there are more than a 100 trials going on. But till date, scientists are not sure what will work and what will not.
In just a short span of time, this new variant of coronavirus has taken the world hostage and disrupted the way of life that we are all used to. The fact that we may just have to adjust to a new reality post lockdown is very real.
WHO emergencies director Dr Mike Ryan warned on Wednesday that trying to predict when the virus would disappear is not practical. According to him, even if a vaccine is found, controlling the virus will require a "massive effort". More than 300,000 people have died across the world from this disease and there are today more than 4.3m positive cases. The United Nations have also warned that the pandemic was causing widespread distress and mental ill health - particularly in countries where there's a lack of investment in mental healthcare. This organization has urged governments to make mental health considerations part of their overall response.
According to Dr Ryan, "It is important to put this on the table: This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away. He goes on to say that HIV has not gone away. This means that we have come to terms with the virus. He also admitted that he doesn't believe 'anyone can predict when this disease will disappear'. This is despite there being more than 100 potential vaccines in development. Dr Ryan also noted that there are other illnesses like measles, that still haven't been eliminated despite there being vaccines for them.
On the other hand, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that it was still possible to control the virus if everyone joins in and makes the right effort towards it. As he says, "The trajectory is in our hands, and it's everybody's business, and we should all contribute to stop this pandemic." WHO epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove added that we need to get into the mindset that it is going to take some time to come out of this pandemic. These comments come at a time when countries are looking at easing restrictions and gradually getting back to normal life.
According to Dr Tedros, there is no way of easing restrictions without triggering a second wave of infections. As he says, "Many countries would like to get out of the different measures. People think that that lockdowns work perfectly and that unlocking lockdowns will go great. Both are fraught with inherent dangers." We will have to keep following the precautionary methods including social distancing and wearing of masks.
