Special Article
DR M AHMED ABDULLAH
THECOVID 19 outbreak has spreadlike wildfire acrossthe globe. It hasinfected hundreds of thousands of people and has killed many. It is a difficult disease to tackle, because of the variety of symptoms and outcomes. The disease rates exploded so quickly through the help of the technology that we have created for our own ease as humans. It spread at its epicentre through central heating and cooling systems, and spread to other countries through planes and ships. It is further spreading within countries mostly though public transport and gatherings. We are constantly being told that things will get worse before they get any better. The situation in Europe and America looks grave, while China; the origin of the infection seems to have controlled the outbreak through a robustly authoritarian approach. Markets are plummeting and businesses around the world are going bankrupt. This is not the first time that humans have faced a pandemic of his proportion, but it is definitely the first time we are facing one in a world controlled by technology. The information overloadis also overwhelming; with most information being based on poorly researched personal opinions and non-scientific explanations to an extremely scientific problem. Pandemics are a force of nature, and we as humans are naturally programmed to fear everything that is beyond our control, fear in turn can result in a variety of responses ranging from enhanced carefulness to becoming obsessive and phobic. This virus in particular has challenged multiple aspects of life as we know it. The way we interact with people, the way we care for those in a sick role, the way we celebrate death and even the way we greet people have been influenced by the modes of transmission of this disease. Unfortunately pandemics reduce the humanity in people and create a perception where other people are considered to be potential hosts of a contagion instead of living people with loved ones, lives and backgrounds. As the death toll increases the dead become numbers. We need to understand the difference between care and fear, as care can savelives while fear can have devastating and long-term effects. It is a known scientific fact that being in a constant state of fear can reduce immunity and make people susceptible to various environmental factors and infectious diseases. The fear brought on during this outbreak has many faces. The fear of getting ill, the fear of dying, the fear of spreading it to loved ones, and also the fear of not having enough consumables during restrictedmovements all havetheir own implications.Themostimportant peopleinthis war like situation are the medical personnel working at the forefront. They are already working in tense situations, and external fears would further limit their abilityto functiontothe best oftheir abilities, and will also reduce their immunity in times when we need it the most. Social and mainstream media can be great sources of real timeinformation. Howeverin many casesthey are beingmisusedto spread false fears and even hatred and discrimination. This is not a Chinese or American virus, it is a human virus. Unfortunately fear is the easiest thing to sell, and it is currently being used to sell a diverse range of ideas and products. We need to be ready for the psychosocial aspects of this outbreak, even when it is over. The worst of times should bring out the best in all of us. We need to stay united by staying distant, make the best use of time that nature has granted usto makethe world a better place. Hopefully a new cleaner, indiscriminate and fair world will rise from the ashes of this war. We need to realize that this has happened because we were unfair to nature, we treated it with disrespect and arrogance and this is just a glimpse of what we as a species account to. —The writer is Assistant Professor Public Health, Islamabad Medical and Dental College. Email: [email protected]
