You are so right. Today I am so disturbed. One of the legendary film personalities of our city, Mr. Soumitra Chatterjee (aged 84 years) is down with Corona and is in a very critical stage. Few days before, we lost our former President of India, Dr, Pranab Mukherjee. I am very disturbed with this pandemic.
Dear Anamitra Roy in all of Europe the coronavirus infection counts are rising rapidly, and there is no end in sight. Thus one can say that the much-feared 2nd wave of the corona pandemic is in full swing at least in this part of the world. In Germany the Robert Koch-institut reported 16,774 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours and 89 COVID-19-related casualties. Yesterday the Germany government decided to implement a "lockdown light" which will become effective on Monday, November 2nd. Restaurants, hotels and the cultural sector will be completely closed for the entire month of November. Schools will remain open, and fortunately universities also.
I have seen this news. In West Bengal province of India, where I stay, numbers are multiplying everyday. This cloud seems to have no silver lining. As I am writing this now, my mind is getting foggier. I am feeling a little helpless and worried.
You are right. In Asian countries the first wave is slowly reaching its end. In European countries, the second wave is starting. We, the residents of Asian countries will have to remain aware and cautious about the second wave.
Dear Anamitra Roy I'm afraid that stopping the virus is wishful thinking. The coronavirus will never be eradicated, but we must learn how to live with it. Even if safe and effective vaccines will become available, many questions will remain, e.g. concerning the distribution of the vaccines in different countries. For more information please see this very interesting link entitled "What Can We Expect From 2021: The COVID Perspective".
According to this link, there will be a 60% chance that
Globalized travel and tourism will not return in 2021
Many industries will continue to suffer
Those suffering from chronic illness and cancer will continue to be at a disadvantage in hospitals because they won’t receive adequate care due to COVID-19
Telemedicine will be the norm as it will be difficult to see a doctor in person
Home lab tests are coming
We must prepare for more e-sports and relatively strict limits on live sports and cultural events
Thank you for sharing this information. I cannot tell you how heavy my mind is getting these days. I am worried about how man is going to survive this way. I made it a point in a number of threads in RG that may be this virus will never get eliminated and it will never be possible to provide the vaccine to every person in the world. Each time I wrote these points, I also wrote that I wish I am wrong.
This civilization was build by so many people, so many generations, sacrifices, hard work. I am worried about what will happen to this civilization.
In my city also the number of infections are rising. As I am writing here, the local television channels are telecasting debates on whether we shall have Diwali this year. Diwali is the festival of lights. It is an Indian festival in which we burn fireworks, we decorate our houses with lights. This festival speaks about driving away the evil. Scientists, researchers and doctors are of the opinion that we should stop the celebrations this year. Probably we will have to stop it. If required to do so for the sake of the civilization, we should do it.
I remember that I posted this question on October 11. At that time slowly the numbers were going down. I did not realize that it was a temporary phase. I forgot that one swallow does not make it a summer.
Dear Anamitra Roy many thanks for your detailed answer. I definitively understand your worries. However, you should not be too pessimistic. I'm not an expert, but I'm also convinced that the coronavirus will never go away. We must learn how to live with it as we learned how to live with the flu. Next year, various vaccines against COVID-19 will be marketed which will reduce the risk of getting infected. The good thing in the current situation is that we can do a lot ourselves to reduce our personal infection risk, especially by reducing social contacts. Celebrating festivals like Diwali is certainly not appropriate this year. My parents were born in 1923 and 1932. Thus they were teenagers during WW II. They witnessed how my hometown Hamburg was bombed to the ground in 1943 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II). Personally I think that the corona crisis is a smaller challenge.
Thank you for your kind words. From the last few days, I was feeling very down as memories of the pre Corona period were haunting me. Your words are inspiring. This evening, I met a dental surgeon who is a close friend of mine. He said that the local government authorities have asked for some data from him. He was telling me that probably the vaccine in India is almost ready. Doctors and dental surgeons like him will be given the vaccine first. If we have to go as per his words, he said that he is expecting the appearance of the vaccine around March - April, 2021 and the operational process has been started by the government.
Yes, there is a huge possibility that Diwali will be cancelled this year. I was feeling very low because of this pandemic. When I went through your opinion that you think that this is a smaller challenge in comparison to the bombing in your home town of Hamburg during the WW II, I am also starting to think the same way.
I have to thank you for converting my negative thoughts into positive ones. It is not that I came across what you said, for the first time. But the same words from you are having a magical effect on me. This is the beauty of life.
Currently there is absolutely no end of the COVID-19 pandemic in sight. To the contrary, infections counts are still rising dramatically. Please see the link cited below which is entitled "COVID-19 situation update worldwide, as of 6 November 2020". There you can immediately see how the coronavirus infection curve is pointing upwards. The world map shows that most of Africa has been spared the dramatic development of the pandemic. In Australia, China, and New Zealand the pandemic has more or less been overcome.
Thank you for sharing all these information in this thread. Although I did not have the detailed statistics, yet I was sure that the numbers are rising. We are no where close to the declining stage. I think the trend is getting towards a danger zone. That's enough reason for us to get worried.
Dear Anamitra Roy in my country, Germany, the government has imposed what they call a "lockdown light" for the entire month of November. "Lockdown light" means that e.g. restaurants, bars, clubs, theaters, museums and cinemas must close, while regular shopping remains possible. Most importantly, however, schools and universities remain open in November. For more informations on this please see the following link entitled "Schools In Germany Remain Open Amid A New Lockdown"
In West Bengal province of India, we have been ordered by the Calcutta High Court to not burn fireworks and burst crackers during Diwali. It has been said that doing these ensures air pollution. Already so many people are down with disease of lungs due to COVID-19. So we should not create further trouble by celebrating Diwali. The pandals where Diwali is celebrated and our Hindu Goddess Kali is worshiped, will be treated as containment zones. So we are not allowed to visit these places. Production, sales and bursting of any sort of fire works stand banned for entire November, 2020. We have been advised by Government of West Bengal to stay at home and not make it public during Diwali.
Dear Anamitra Roy unfortunately, the world is passing through a declining phase. The pandemic has revealed the weakness of our global governance paradigms, proving how the predominance of poverty, fragile health and education systems and an absence of international cooperation accelerate the crises, there will be a world before and after the COVID-19. It is very difficult to project what will be the dimension of these changes in our way of living, but part of it depends on us. Kind regards, Ernani
In India, the first wave is slowly declining but we are very worried about the arrival of the second wave. In Europe, many countries are experiencing that. I got detailed information about Germany, Europe and other parts of the world from our senior colleague from the research fraternity Frank T. Edelmann .