The Chinese concern is now global fear
The gain for China is that on one hand the graph of death is climbing up rapidly, while on the other hand the economic growth rate seems to be falling to the lowest level of five decades from 2.8 to 3.2 percent.
Test, trace and treatment – these three words which became life saver for the country two years back, are once again going to be our security shield. Along with this, the masks which have disappeared from the faces are also coming back. The health infrastructure in the country is again back in the mainstream discussion. According to government figures, there has been a 14-fold jump in the number of people getting booster doses in the last one week. All the exercises may be of different types, but the underlying concern behind them is the same –and that is the uproar in the world due to the increasing number of Covid cases in China.
Even two years ago, the corona virus commenced its global journey from China itself. This time, after the abolition of the Zero-Covid policy, the situation in China has deteriorated rapidly. There neither the medicine is working, nor the prayer. Many cities have been hit by Covid in such a way that every house has become a hospital and there is a long waiting list in the mortuaries too. It is feared that in the coming days when a new peak will appear here, the death toll will rise into lakhs. Omicron’s new variant BF.7 causing havoc in China, is deadlier than any of its old mutations and now one patient suffering from it is infecting 18 people.
Not only China, the panic of BF.7 is visible till Japan, Australia, America. According to a report in ‘Japan Times’, the 8th wave has arrived in Japan and apart from the large number of deaths due to Omicron variant, 41 children have also lost their lives in the last 8 months. Most of these children were in the age group of one to five years. This is another ugly face of the new variant as children were more or less safe from the mutations of corona virus so far. The new wave has increased the pace of infection in America as well. A report by Johns Hopkins University states that since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of corona infected in the US has crossed 100 million. Of these, more than 70 percent of cases are attributed to new mutations of Omicron such as BF.7.
Preparations are going on in full swing in India to fight this new variant of Corona which is spreading panic in the world. The good thing is that taking lessons from the past experience, India has come in alert mode in time this time. To deal with the situation, the government has taken three major decisions – approval of nasal vaccine for another protective shield against Corona, mock drill in hospitals on December 27 to check their ability to deal with Corona and to stop the influx of Corona from abroad. New advisory is also to be implemented at the airport from the new year. Random testing of a certain number of passengers arriving by international flights has begun. Along with this, states have also been instructed to increase testing, get Genome Sequencing of every sample done and adopt necessary protocols for Covid. The result of insisting on testing has been that four cases of BF.7 have been reported in the country. All four have now returned home after recovering completely.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also warned the country with a stern warning that ‘Covid is not over yet’. This statement of the Prime Minister can be said to be important in the sense that even if there is no such Corona emergency in the country and we are in a better position in terms of preparedness than before also, nevertheless the way a little carelessness invites the old times, similarly, a little caution can also save the country from a huge crisis. In this context, the PM Modi’s advice to the states to audit the hospital staff and infrastructure including oxygen cylinders, PSA plants, ventilators, etc. can definitely prove to be effective. You and I can also strengthen this campaign by wearing masks in crowded places. This is not only sensible, it is also our responsibility towards the country.
Due to the increasing steps of Corona, the world is scared for another reason. Any new wave can once again put the global economy back on track. This whole week, the Indian markets appeared immersed in this apprehension. In the last 7 days, about 19 lakh crore rupees of investors have sunk. On Friday December 23, alone the markets fell by 1.7 per cent, due to which investors lost Rs 8.26 lakh crore.
In the new crisis, China’s condition has become like ‘well here, ditch there’. The Focus on economic reform or give priority to corona control? China has suffered the brunt on the economic front by keeping the Zero Covid policy in force, now when it has given relaxation in the Zero Covid policy, Corona is creating a ruckus. The gain for China is that on one hand the graph of death is climbing up rapidly, while on the other hand the economic growth rate seems to be falling to the lowest level of five decades from 2.8 to 3.2 percent. I had pointed out this situation in one of my old articles when the debate on maintaining or removing the Zero Covid policy was raging in China.
But this is not the only concern of India. We have been successful in controlling Corona in the country, but if the situation in countries like China, Japan, America, Taiwan does not improve, we too will not be able to escape its effects. If strict restrictions are implemented again by these countries to control Corona, then the supply chain of our country will obviously be disrupted. The result will be that there will be more ignite to the inflation because in many sectors like pharma, electronics, we are largely dependent on these countries to meet the domestic demand.
In the midst of this bitter truth, some blatant misconceptions are also gaining momentum once again. The connection of non-vegetarianism and corona is being connected again. Even prior to the the corona virus start from China, Wuhan market had come in the discussion where all kinds of meats were sold and bought. Many such claims had come to the fore, in which it was also said that the reason for the spread of Corona virus was originally the meat of bats. Scientists had neither denied it nor confirmed it then. Since Corona virus infection has reached to humans through animals, due to the new Corona wave, once again the perception of people is inclining towards staying away from non-vegetarian food.
However, at this time, more important than breaking this belief is to break the illusion of Corona. An interesting revelation suggests that the BF.7 variant, that has come to the fore this time, has arrived in India in September 2022 itself. It infected four patients who are now completely healthy. Then on an average 5 to 7 thousand people were getting infected everyday. This number has now come down to between 100 and 200. This can be taken to mean that in terms of deaths or spread of infection, BF.7 has not proved to be a cause of danger in India at present. One reason for this could be the herd immunity born in 95 percent of the country’s population, which could not develop in the residents of China imprisoned at home due to the strict Zero Covid policy. Two doses of Covid vaccines have also enhanced immunity. Still, since the virus is mutating, being careful seems to be the best solution for now. Do celebrate Christmas and New Year but by keeping mask, sanitizer and social distancing and.. be careful!
