Breaking the Pandemic Chain: Why Individual Responsibility is Key

This popular nursery rhyme sings of the plague that swept through Europe before the 1500s and killed many. Rings around the skin were symptoms and posies were herbs used to dispel the stench. But death does not seem to be the actual objective of the Coronavirus pandemic we have now. That would have been the objective of a Tsunami or maybe a plane crash. You would get solid deaths in those two. The objective of Coronavirus, if things happen for a reason that is, seems to be one that tests the collective ability of the present human race to organize themselves around a serious threat. That is why, while it shows a degree of mercy for our lives, it is relentless in crippling our systems – our jobs, our businesses, our social lives, our governments, our supply chains, our resources. Seems like the Coronavirus is pretty decided on doing just the right amount of damage to test our faith in our own systems, our science and our technology, WHILE giving us just the right amount of hope to keep some optimism alive. If that is the case, then we can only come out of this by going through this test and passing it. By showing that collectively, we are able to beat this. This despite having people:

• Who continue to fly to heavily infested areas because fares are low,
• Who feel that it is a disease that only afflicts the old,
• Who feel that having medical front-liners succumbing to the stress of treating so many sick people in horrible heat trapping suits is not their concern,
• Who think that the virus is an opportunity to advance their new business propositions; and
• Who think that the leaves and off-time that come with the pandemic is a much welcomed break.

The whole Coronavirus pandemic seems to test our ability to rise above the ignorance, the short-sightedness and the opportunism of a few, by taking as many measures as possible, starting from telling people to keep away from us and by keeping ourselves away from people. By being aware of what we touch and where we go, by using alternatives channels for buying things and delivering work, by keeping our outdoor activities minimal, by keeping our hands sanitized, by saying no to sudden offers and opportunities that are just too good to be true, by standing firmly with the belief that we can fight this and that it is never too late. Government policies, autocratic orders, intensive screening, stringent rules – can only go that far. If each of us don’t join in this fight, this test is going to be around for a long long time. The objective of every challenge reveals a lot about the solution. This test is simply to see if we can really put our hearts to it. We can, and we must. We have come too far to let some virus beat us.