Doing our bit to fight Corona

The year 2020 has had a rough start with the outbreak of Coronavirus(COVID-19) being the most concerning happening in the world. With all the negativity, tension and fear around, it is necessary for all of us to stay not just safe but strong enough to inspire others to remain the same.

There is a lot of panic created especially by social media by the uncontrolled spread of hoax and unverified and baseless opinions and rumors. At this critical juncture when humankind is on the verge of a potentially fatal pandemic, it is necessary for us to be responsible with ourselves along with staying safe and supporting the world by spreading hope, faith, and belief that things are not as bad as they seem to be. It is very important for us to be practical rather than getting carried away by emotion.

Let’s look at some facts about Coronavirus and what we being a part of the society can do to stay safe in these cautious times.

1. Be authentic:

It is midnight and while you surf through your chats on the phone you find a forwarded piece of text that says that a case of Corona has been detected right next to your school or office or your workplace or worse right in your neighborhood. It is a natural tendency of us as loving humans to spread the word to our dear ones. Nothing wrong there, but what if this was just a piece of lie or an unconfirmed truth meant to float around the chatboxes of people for the sake of creating a buzz?

Are you going to be a part of it?

Remember in a highly connected world rumor spreads faster than Corona itself ever would and alerting people would sound responsible to you and for some, it might be a past-time to create some unnecessary activity in their chats… but you never know what impact your unverified lie would have on someone’s life. Such an act could make someone believe that he or she has become a victim of this contagious disease just because his or her eyes are burning. He might land up in a hospital to make other patients over there feel insecure, he might be forced to isolate himself unnecessarily when he was actually meant to take care of his family in this tough time.

The next time something about Corona pops up in your notifications… go to google and see whether it is mentioned in the news or probably on WHO(World Health Organization) portals. If not it makes no sense to forward it to multiple people. You might argue that probably this case would need some time to reflect on the news and it might actually be true before google verifies it. Understand this… your one message won’t be enough to save the world even if the message was true. Better to remain calm and stay safe at home until the news doesn’t speak for itself.

2. Spread awareness:

It makes sense to stay safe yourself as well as letting others know what you yourself are doing to stay safe. There are some very good and trustworthy videos on the WHO official site that talk about what can be done to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and how to avoid contracting it.

A few of the pointers mention the use of elbow while sneezing or coughing, using soap and sanitizers as frequently as practically possible and maintaining social distancing.

You can watch the video here.

3. Break the myths:

Don’t go by anybody’s words, even the professional researchers are still trying to figure out the ifs and buts of Corona. People will come up with various myths and claim them boldly, but how baseless or how valid their comments are can be evaluated by the report here.

This report states under the authenticity of WHO that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted through mosquitoes. Also, the existing vaccinations against Pneumonia cannot protect you against Coronavirus. And there is yet no evidence that rinsing nose through saline can help prevent Coronavirus.

4. Stay rooted:

Everyone is a hero in their own life story, and many of us are mentally so strong that we firmly believe that we are invincible and we can never be affected by any microscopic virus. Stay rooted friend… life is full of surprises like the game of football. The ones who are victims of this virus share the same mortal genes as you. So don’t be overconfident or over-optimistic or over-superhero-ish to go out there and contract the virus doing stupid stuff. Stay safe, a true hero knows he is vulnerable. The biggest strength lies in knowing one’s own weaknesses.

On the contrary, there are people who think they are already a victim of this virus and start feeling fever even though the heat in their body is due to the panic and nervousness caused by their frantically beating heart. The first line of defense against any disease is a person’s immune system which is highly governed by the subconscious and the way he feels about himself. If you feel sick, your subconscious creates changes in your body pretending that it is reacting like a victim of the disease and lowers the immune strength. Stay rooted again… it is recommended not to be overconfident but absolutely mandatory to remain strong and confident. But yes, it is highly recommended to visit the doctor if problems persist.

5. Knowledge is power:

Since this virus is new, and research is still in progress for it, it is natural that even the most authentic of sources over the internet including the WHO are immature, so keep yourself posted and updated about the latest happenings around COVID-19. This is not the time to assume anything, it is the time to be very sure about what is happening around you.

6. And lastly, believe and hope:

If there is anything that history has taught us, it is simply this. Humans have overcome epidemics, nuclear wars, and even earthquakes. All of this happened because someone in this world always hoped that things will get better. Sources claim that Coronavirus is not as fatal as the epidemics like Ebola or swine flu from the past. Sources also claim that even if someone contracted this virus doesn’t mean he is going to die, with proper medication and care this disease can be kept at bay from causing any harmful effects to our bodies.

You have no right to spread fear if you cannot spread hope. Keep hoping, keep the faith, stay strong and be together(hygeneically though) in this tough time. We will win, surely. We hope that we as football fans could do our bit to pass around this ball of hope and faith across the world. Hopefully, it spreads faster than COVID-19, and it would be an icing on the cake if this hope becomes contagious.