Tag: Looming Covid Third Wave

3rd Wave Covid

‘3rd Wave Is Upon Us; Of All Gatherings, Election Rallies Are Worst’

By LokMarg

Dr Mridul Sharma, 24, from Amritsar, says our leaders lecture others on Covid-appropriate behaviour but fall short of following the protocols themselves

No matter where the Covid-19 has come from, it is certain that it will go very far in destroying the health of millions. And we doctors and other frontline healthcare professionals are the first line of defence when the virus attacks. The Delta variant has shown just how devastating the effects of the mutated virus can be and I am pretty sure the Omicron variant is going to cause as much, if not more, damage. The third wave is a certainty and we should brace ourselves for it.

People have no idea how much pressure healthcare workers come under, when the cases surge and peak. Not only are we ill equipped to fight the virus, as it is mutating faster than we can understand it, we are also overwhelmed with the volume of cases.

Conducting a political rally when the third wave is imminent, isn’t a good idea. In fact any gathering is not a good idea, be it a marriage or funeral, but political rallies are the worst. A big rally is scheduled for January 5 in Punjab and in my opinion by January 15, there are chances of the third wave striking in force. I wish people understood the situation.

I myself contracted the virus twice, once in August 2020 and the second time during the second wave. And since I live alone, it gets difficult to manage the infection on one’s own. My oxygen saturation levels went dangerously low while I was infected. On Covid duty during the second wave, I had to take up rented accommodation near the hospital, so that I didn’t have to commute much and there were lesser chances of me infecting someone else.

Sharma lost his grandfather to post-Covid complications but had little time to grieve his death

Most other people can cope with the slow recovery but a healthcare professional, especially a doctor, has to get back on one’s feet immediately. I lost my grandfather aged 86 to post-Covid complications in April. He was full of life and someone with a healthy lifestyle and yet it was difficult for him to fight the long Covid complications. As healthcare professionals we don’t even get time to grieve our loved ones. When people conduct election rallies they must understand that human lives at stake.

ALSO READ: Health Workers Are Anxious About Omicron

My sister is a dentist and during the second wave, healthcare professionals from other streams were also asked to pitch in to enhance resources. My parents get anxious to see both their children stand in the frontline. I wish governments understood that individual families get impacted when prevention isn’t done well and each story ends up differently.

Tamam umr sarkarein yahi bhool karti rahi, dhool chehre pe thi aur aaina saaf karti rahi. (Governments commit this mistake all the time: find fault in others’ behaviour, forget to check their own record). Political leaders should lead by example so that the public knows how to behave and follow Covid protocols. As the virus mutates, the complications are also getting severe: the Guillane-Barre syndrome, body paralysis, long Covid etc. And people with co-morbidities have it tougher.

India has better immunity than most countries because of our food habits, but we also have enormous numbers. We are bracing ourselves to report on Covid duty once again. Even if we report on duty for one day, we have to quarantine ourselves for a fortnight. It isn’t easy to be confined for that long every few days. And when we are called on duty, the workload is beyond overwhelming. We all need to take the right decisions every step of the way to fight the virus.

Covid Is Not Over Yet

‘People Forget Covid Waves, Health Workers Worried About Omicron’

By LokMarg

Anita Kumari, a 42-year-old auxiliary nurse & midwife in Jharkhand, says masks have come down and social distancing gone for a toss but Covid is not over yet

I have been in the medical profession for nearly 15 years now, but never have I seen anything as devastating as the coronavirus, and the various mutations that it springs upon us from time to time. The Delta variant, the Omicron variant, who knows what other variants are lurking around us. I wish people took more care to wear masks and sanitise hands. The prevention is easy (at least the virus doesn’t have as debilitating an effect) but the cure and treatment is difficult. The public mindset is such that they give up once the peak number of cases come down.

This lackadaisical attitude proved to be so deadly during the second wave. Then we frontline workers are left to pick up the pieces and put ourselves and our own health at greater risk of catching the virus. My Covid duty is to administer vaccines to people. We are a five-member team that administers vaccines to people.

Earlier we would be giving these doses at dedicated centres but now we have to go from home to home. We need to collectively step up on our public duty of wearing masks, getting our tests done if the symptoms arise, otherwise a third wave is imminent.

Off to work: Anita Kumari says public must understand Covid isn’t over yet

The general public should understand that the pandemic has been very challenging for frontline workers. When people are in lockdown at home, we still have to go about our duty. We have to convince people to take vaccines and it’s not an easy thing to do, especially for the elderly population, or even those above 45.

ALSO READ: ‘We Haven’t Learnt Anything From Previous Waves’

I am happy that those from 18-45 age group have shown tremendous enthusiasm as well as a sense of public duty when it comes to vaccines. Seeing them many in the 45+ age group have been inspired to co-operate. We have to travel in public transport and come rain or sun, we cannot relax. Sometimes even Sundays are working and then we have to take care of our household responsibilities as well.

The general public needs to understand that the government and healthcare workers are all trying their best to tackle the virus but without the cooperation of people it cannot be defeated. Immediate isolation and treatment are very important. I myself caught the virus during April this year and suffered. Many others can take more time off to recover, but healthcare workers have to report on duty after the quarantine period.

People’s attitude are at their careless worst in public transport. They feel they don’t need to wear masks while commuting or walking on the roads and you can’t ask them to follow those protocols because many time people pick up fights. We have seen how much healthcare workers have had to suffer during the pandemic. Each person is important in the war against Covid and its many variants. We are all in this together. I commute long distance every day to get to work. It would be nice if the public walked the path of social responsibility too.

As told to Yog Maya Singh

At Home Impacts Emotional Growth of School Children

‘My Sons Look Forward To Re-join School But I’m A Bit Tense’

By LokMarg

Rakhi Singh, a Delhi-NCR blogger, says being cooped up at home impacts emotional growth of school children and virtual learning can never replace the real

As schools are set to reopen, the troika of students, teachers and parents are about to undergo a transition all over again. Perhaps the shift, the adjustments are going to be similar to the ones we made for online classes at the beginning of the pandemic. Our daily routines will undergo major changes all over again. My two sons, aged 8 and 16, are students of the DLF Public School in Ghaziabad and are looking forward to the reopening of their schools after studying at home for nearly one and a half years.

It would have been reassuring if the government had rather worked on vaccinating the children before going ahead with the decision. I still feel a little scared about sending them to school. We could have waited for three-four months more… at least we would be past the predicted third Covid wave.

Many parents say that kids’ education has been hampered all the while the schools were closed, but I differ. I believe education has been fine; it is the emotional growth of children that has been impacted while they stayed cooped up at home. In schools, children are exposed to varied kinds of emotions, they understand that the same problem can be approached by different people in different manners and their eyes aren’t permanently glued to a screen.

My elder son saw some of his close friends lose either one or both parents to Covid and even though he has been very supportive of his friends, he wants to be there for them every day. This can only happen in a physical school environment.

Rakhi Singh feels it would have been better if the government had waited for a few more months and initiated vaccination for adolescents

While my elder son has grown up emotionally/socially, I feel my younger son has grown up practically amid this situation. Online classes meant he became more self-sufficient at doing classwork, uploading it and being more interactive with other classmates and teachers. I hope the efficiency in tasks spills over to his time in school too.

Both my husband and I contracted Covid during the second wave. And I saw how my sons managed their classes on their own with the support of their teachers, leaving me proud. So I feel once the schools reopen, they will be in a better position to be able to understand and love and respect their teachers better as well. The cohesion, the teamwork between parents, teachers and students is here to stay.

ALSO READ: ‘Won’t Send My Son To School Till He Is Vaccinated’

The most important thing children were losing out on while the schools were closed, was on making new memories. I still remember my school days clearly and most of my emotional bonds are with friends from school time. I want my sons to know that memories are the cushions that support us when we get busy with life as we grow up.

Virtual life can never compare to the real. My elder son scored 96.4% in his Class 10 exams but wasn’t satisfied with the assessment procedure. They feel their achievements to be more solid and the assessment to be fairer in classrooms and campus environment than in online. So I really hope that both the young men feel more free and clear about their own thoughts, opinions and perspectives once they go to school.

During the first wave they watched a lot of news and were struck with the uncertainty of life. But they also saw how strangers can come together to help each other and bring a tiny amount of certainty, a sense of community and togetherness. I am sure once the schools reopen, children will be able to understand both themselves and others better.