Introductionz

                                            LOCKDOWN - THE NEW NORMAL

These are unprecedented times, not seen since the times of World War 2,between 1939-1945.
Even that pales in insignificance, for the simple fact that,WW2 affected about 25/30 countries
across US Europe and Asia, whereas the current situation has enveloped the entire Globe...from
the Americas to Australasia and Europe to Africa.

Yes, the current Corona Virus Pandemic has rattled the entire Humanity, and is now threatening to wipe out the human race from the face of the earth. It started in Wuhan city in Hubei Province of
China, in early December 2019.It was a Lab experiment that went horribly wrong,got transmitted
from another mammal, the bat, to humans and lead to a spread so frighteningly exponential, that the rate of mortality, especially in the Western World, is alarmingly high. China, trying to control this by themselves, couldn't and thereby failed to inform the world of this impending disaster. This lead to a delay of more than 3 months, before they announced to the world about this virus. This time lag is what has made the entire world suffer, the consequences. Corona is an Influenza strain which has just an RNA and Protein. When it manifests itself in a host body, it mutates itself and doesn't allow antibodies to attack it. This attacks the immune system, particularly the respiratory system, leading to death.

The first wave of Corona hit India sometime in January/February of 2020.The realisation that this is something serious hit us only around March 1st week, and all panic buttons were pressed. India went into a Lockdown mode from 22nd March 2020 for more than 3 months, till 30th June. Except frontline workers, and essential services ,i.e., Transport, Water supply, Internet services, Health services, Police, Banks, Army, Municipal and Sanitation services, all else was shut down in the entire country. Agriculture was the only sector which was open throughout, and Rural India was fairly unaffected. This was unprecedented in the history of the country's existence since 1947 and lead to chaos, mayhem, fear and loss of lives, jobs, livelihood & loved ones..etc. The only saviour seemed to be the discovery of a vaccine and that seemed quite far away, as vaccines typically have a 3-5 year window from discovery to development to distribution. Various Companies were racing ahead to develop vaccines and launch them at the earliest,,, the first mover advantage, obviously. 

USA, Spain, Italy, UK, France, Germany, Brazil, were some of the badly hit countries and the scale of infection, spread, fatalities,was catastrophic and even the rich and developed world, could not cope with it, notwithstanding their level of health, hygiene, infrastructure, information and preparedness. Where would this lead India to and how we can cope with this pandemic, was a big worry for most Indians.

India however stood up to it and handled it very well.US had about 10 million affected and about 500,000 fatalities, whereas India had a case count of around 4.5 million and about 100,000 fatalities.

By July 2020,things were back to normal in India and the Economy also had started showing green shoots of recovery. The opening up of the country was done quite cautiously and in phases and we started limping back to normalcy. By around September/October,it was back to 100% efficiency, with

Theatres, Malls, Sports grounds,Clubs..etc all getting opened up and going about their usual business.

I however was quite guarded, and like the IT sector was willing to work from home. We decided on a trip to Bangalore, during December end, since folks at home were getting frustrated. We Left on 24th Dec 2020 in 2 cars.Dad,Mom,Wife,2 kids and my Sis in law, her son and their dog. Came back on 30th Dec after a nice 1 week trip and rejuvenated spirits.I started my Office on 20th February 2021 and started going regularly for about 2 months, before abruptly shutting down Office, on 19th April 2021,as the impending second wave started rearing its ugly head. Just prior to this Dad/Mom and Wife/I got our 1st shot of the Covishield vaccine at Mahavir Hospital...on 22nd March and 9th April 2021 respectively  

Dark clouds were hovering around the horizon,as various countries started getting hit by a 2nd wave, through mutated versions of the virus. South Africa, UK, Brazil,Australia..etc started getting hit again. This was also the period when vaccines started getting discovered, approved and sold. Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Astra Zeneca, Sputnik, Bharath Biotech, Sinovac, Sinopharm ...... etc started announcing/ manufacturing/supplying to the world. India had 2 vaccines being manufactured locally...Covishield (Astra Zeneca) and Covaxin (Bharath Biotech).With this, people started letting their guard down and started making merry, openly meeting others, celebrating marriages,  parties, functions ....etc. All this was a sure shot recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.

The delta variant hit India in April 3rd/4th Week and it was mayhem all around. The spread was deadly and double quick. WHO, confirmed that this variant was spreading through air and not just contact. The daily case load was about 4 Lac & daily mortality rate around 5 thousand....primarily in Delhi,Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and pockets of another dozen states. Everyone was caught offguard...Govts, Hospitals, Pharama Companies, Administration, People,Suppliers and Manufacturers of various equipments..etc. Oxygen cylinders, Oxygen Concentrators, Ventilators, Hospital beds, ICUs, Medicines, Vaccines, Ambulances....were all critical aspects of the health care system, which were in an abominable short supply and the dark side of the human face emerged, leading to racketeering, arm twisting, hoarding, fleecing of the gullible, corruption and profiteering. All Govts, including the GOI faced flak for their handling of the situation. Businesses, Armed Forces,Police..etc stepped in to alleviate the suffering of the common man.

The 2nd wave saw us losing a lot of known people in close circles and it was heart wrenching to see entire families getting wiped out. Close friends, Classmates, Cousins, Relatives and families of close ones lost their dear ones and this to my mind is the darkest phase of my life so far, on planet earth!

We are now in the middle of June and the spread has slowed down thanks to Lockdowns in all the states. We in Hyderabad had a full lockdown from 12th May to 22nd initially, extended till 30th and finally extended till 19th June 2021.This deadly wave has also brought out the human spirit in all of us.

Reaching out to people, giving a helping hand, assisting in sourcing medicines/critical equipment, providing financial support, using contacts to get work done..etc. This pandemic is not gone yet, and we need to be careful and follow all the necessary safety protocols to stay safe and remain healthy.

China needs to be taught a lesson and the world needs to unite and stay together, in its fight against an enemy, who has no morals and scruples and wants to extend its hegemony across the world.

'This is a fight against an enemy which is both seen & unseen....China & its bio and electronic warfare'.