Horrors of Covid-19

Isolated and sedated in a pale room with oxygen tanks, struggling with a life-limiting illness with a swarm of beeping monitors and vibrating devices, supplemental oxygen, unrecognisable faces in masks, along with a sense of frustration and bereavement. The shadow of Covid-19 had loomed over my own world as my father had tested positive for the deadly coronavirus during the first wave. It was devastating.

The world since then has gone through an irreversible change. The reigning pandemic has shaped the lives of people around the world. Once again, Covid-19 infection rates are rising along with the rate of deaths from the virus. The resurgence of the contagious disease is bringing with it the fear of more drastic restrictions on our freedoms. Health authorities in Pakistan are battling hard to resist the deadly virus that has refused to die down completely. We are past the peak of this lethal disease. The second wave of Covid-19 has hit the Pakistani population hard and its hospitals harder. The ground realities of the first wave of the virus had shown that the admission capacity of public hospitals in the country is very limited. On the other hand, private hospitals have proved to be no less than business ventures, despite the capability to handle patients.

The coronavirus has changed our values and relations. The trauma to families — while difficult to measure — is immense, and the absence of loved ones is making things worse for patients and their doctors. Those down with Covid-19 have to fight their battle alone and they often meet their end alone. Family members have missed out on the opportunity to provide comfort to the dying individuals, to sit with them at their bedside, and to say goodbye. Every other night it seems like we bid farewell to our loved ones. The truth is that no one can stop their dear ones from departing. Moreover, unfortunately, the family of a person who died of Covid-19 experiences stigma, as people avoid them for fear of themselves being exposed to the virus. While precaution is necessary, the coronavirus has surely snatched away the right to grieve over the loss of our deceased.

Fortunately in the case of my father, he ended up beating all the odds and surviving the virus. After fighting for 14 long days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he recovered and was tested negative. However, those two weeks were incredibly difficult to get by as we struggled with mixed feelings of panic when seeing the news headlines, along with moments of hope and resilience, despite the uncertainty.

We all should be prepared to fight the virus and defeat it. Every time one thinks of going out just out of boredom, one should step back and re-think his/her decision. Every shopping trip, a casual meet and greet with family and friends should be thought over carefully. Every time one plans to visit a sick person with underlying and suspected symptoms of Covid-19, one should think over the risk and postpone it. One may think that the virus can be outsmarted and a vacation abroad can be easily executed. Or that one can get away without wearing a mask. Every time you choose to not socially distance yourself, you put yourself and those around you at risk.

This is the second wave, and we expect ourselves to be wiser, more cautious, more vigilant and better prepared than the first time. We need to follow the prescribed SOPs and keep ourselves indoors as much as possible. We have to be our own guards and we have to flatten the curve with as much persistence as the last time.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2020.

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