Govid-19

By: Diya Purohit

The word Covid or the number 19 will never be the same again. The onset of this pandemic brought about a realization in the world of its unpredictable nature - and today, sitting here almost a year later, the pandemic has only taken away lives, hope and futures.

There is no clear indication of when we will leave our homes mask-less, when we will be able to see our friends without worry, and most importantly, when we will be able to stop having cotton swabs go up our noses and down our throats.

I only truly understood the impact of this pandemic when my sister traveled to India, got stuck there, contracted Covid-19, and first hand saw how tremendously under pressure the Indian healthcare system is. Sitting here, far from the country, while I do call it home, I cannot help but feel helpless. There is no tangible difference I can make - in a country like India, one can never track where donations end up, and of course, one can only imagine the pain of the frontline healthcare workers.

While my sister is recovered and on her way back, there are so many more people around the world, especially in India, fighting this virus. People have lost their mothers, fathers, many even both, and the struggle to procure healthcare items is real. There are lines outside hospitals, families of patients begging for hospital beds, and a black market booming with second hand sales of life-saving injections. When you’re in desperate need, you will need to sacrifice all interests, take tremendous risks, and do whatever you can to arrange 50000 rupees for an injection, more than your cumulative earnings over 3 years.

Most alarming of all was when a Chief Minister was unable to get a hospital bed - in a nation all too familiar with the concept of nepotism, the sheer lack of resources and need for attention is most evident in these situations. Yet, our country prides a Prime Minister who categories the building of a new house as “pandemic approved work”, focuses continuously on continuing with election polls, and spends most of his time on his Twitter account, only.

The purpose of writing this piece is to familiarize all of us, living far from India, and many countries like it, struggling in the battle of Covid-19. This piece is to serve as a reminder of our privilege - we live in a city where, thankfully, have one to no case on a daily basis, and citizens abide by rules. Our government provides us with vaccines, and more importantly, options of vaccines, allowing you to do your research and make an informed decision. It is our duty to make use of, be thankful for, and protect this privilege, and do our duty in this time of crisis. Let’s hope we can turn Covid-19 into Govid-19.