FRANK ISLAM
AT this point in time, on March 25, the only thing that can be said with any certainty re gardingthe Corona Virus pandemicisthere is no certainty about how and when it will end or what its exact impact will be for Pakistan, other nations andthe world.There are observations, however, that can be made regarding the pandemic’s impact to date, the responses that have been made to it; and, what actions will be necessary in its aftermath. Overall, the novel Corona Virus has put the whole world into an economic and health crisis mode. With the hundreds of thousands of citizens sick and over ten thousand dead, millions of businesses closed, and hundreds of millions of students out of class because of their schools being shut down, the pandemic has already had a devastating effect in nations around the globe. That’s the bad news. The worse news is that in most nations the pandemic is still accelerating. As examples of the acceleration, consider the following: On March 23, using data from Johns Hopkins University, the BBC reported that “It took 67 days from the first report of Covid-19 to reach 100,000, 11 days for the second 100,00 and just four days for the third 100,00. When I wrote the first draft of this column near the end of last week, the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. were 15,219 with 201 total deaths and the number of confirmed cases in Pakistan was 329 with several deaths. As I submit this column, the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. is 50,206 with637 total deaths and the number of confirmed cases in Pakistan was 803. This explosive situation has evoked a variety of responses from nation’s leaders. Some of them began by trying to strike a balance between carrying on with business as usual and implementing some preventive health care measures. In contrast to Trump’s action, on Tuesday, March 24, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a page from China’s President Xi JinPing’ playbook who had completely shut down the Wuhan province after the coronavirus was discovered there. On Tuesday, March 24 Modi decreed a 21-day lockdown of the entire country of India. In initiating the lockdown, he stated, “If you can’t handle those 21 days, this country will go back 21 years.” The enormous impact on the Corona Virus on nations’ health care systems have found most of them under prepared and insufficiently equipped to manage a pandemic of this scope and severity. It has also necessitated finding new means for communicating, educating and doing commerce. This has precipitated innovative approaches and an expanded use of emerging technologies to enable a modicum of coping with these terrifying conditions. These include; Artificial Intelligence and robotics being used for the programming and delivery of healthcare services in highly infectious settings. Telehealth and teleconferences taking place to allow remote consultations and diagnosis of virus employing 5G technology ? Online teaching apps and platforms opening a new avenue of learning for kids and their parents, with millions now subscribing for various free and paid services ?Aboom in E-Commerce.Walmart experienced a significant increase in online orders in China during the outbreak. A surge is also expected in Pakistan with platforms like Daraz having capacity to expand their 50,000 orders daily average to a much higher new level. Online ordering of food for delivery or pick-up has already increased exponentially in the US. And, in the US, Amazon is adding more than 100,000 new drivers for delivery of ordered goods and services.? Internet consumption increasing by many times because all family members are using multiple devices for professional and entertainment purposes, thus multiplying profits of Internet companies. These are necessary activities. But to have the maximum benefit for the country and its citizens they need to be organized with other essential initiatives into a centralized, coordinated and integrated short-term Corona Virus recovery. A short-term recovery plan would allow a nation to move from purely isolated, independent and reactionary actions to begin the process of returning to a state of normalcy. What should be understood, however, is that for most nations including developing nations such as Pakistan and developed nations such as the United States a state of normalcy would be insufficient for moving forward into a promising future. The importance of a national health care and economic system development plan cannot be overstated. Inequality has been on the rise in many nations around the world for most of the 21st century. If it is not confronted and reversed now, it will only get worse. The Corona Virus pandemic is definitely a curse. In a strange way, however, it is also a blessing. It provides a singular opportunity for nations and leaders around the world to do the right thing. If they do through their plans and deeds, we will all be the beneficiaries. If they do not, we will all suffer the consequences. —The writer is an Entrepreneur, Civic Leader, and Thought Leader based in Washington DC.
