Fear Factor

The unwelcome visitor is back. Or maybe he never went away. Maybe he was just lying low, biding his time. Frightening to see the reports that Covid is making the rounds once again.

Those days in 2020 and 21, are etched into our memories forever. The highly infectious quality of the virus forced people to stay away from one another to such a great extent that families were locked into their homes. People in authority took it upon themselves to enforce this lockdown strictly. Venturing out of the house meant one had to use a face mask, since it was found that the virus was transmitted through air. Upon returning home, washing hands with sanitizers was a must. Home delivery of essentials took off in a big way during those Covid days as people could not go out to buy things. It was indeed an exercise to wash all the groceries in water and sanitizing lotions, and dry them before putting them away.

I remember Raghuettan and me being struck down by the virus despite all the precautions. It was a traumatic period of isolation with food being delivered at the door by the children. The more serious cases in those days had to be rushed to hospitals. These hospitals found themselves woefully understaffed to handle the abnormal flow of patients, but everyone pitched in and did their best. Pharmaceutical companies vied with each other in search of a vaccine for this new virus. Soon, one was developed, and a regimen was created for administering the vaccine in two stages. We have to give our higher authorities the due credit for conducting the vaccination procedure smoothly.

A major change, especially in India, brought about by the pandemic, was in the way marriages and other functions were held. India is a country where weddings are conducted on a grand scale stretching over three to four days with hundreds in attendance. The Covid virus ensured that people could not convene in large numbers, could not eat food from outside, and hence weddings and functions were postponed or conducted with only family attending.

Schools and offices were closed and the work from home routine was born. Many companies are still continuing with it, finding it to be more profitable. Before airports were closed, travellers coming into town had to undergo a 15-day quarantine and test negative for the virus before they were allowed back into society.

During the Covid period, we couldn't recognise even our closest friends as the mask would cover almost the entire face. I would pity the lipstick and other cosmetics manufacturers during those days. Maybe they would have to switch to wholesale dealing in fruits or vegetables if this goes on, I had thought.

Some positives brought about by the enforced lockdown were that everyone found new hobbies to engage in. Cooking, baking, singing, dancing and painting were the favourites and soon each person realised that he or she had latent talents to be proud of.

Our collective prayers were heard somewhere above, and the world was able to come back to a new normal, an after-Covid era. We quickly started forgetting the good things we had learned during those difficult days, how the pandemic had taught us to live healthily, and were soon back to our old routines of the pre-Covid days, lulled into the belief that we had put the bad times behind us. The news that the virus has come calling again is a reality check. God help us now

-PR

07/06/2025