Zero Covid Now, India

Recently I attended a townhall on Coronavirus spread in South Asia in which epidemiologist Prof Shu-Ti Chiou from Taiwan spoke spontaneously.

She said (paraphrased), that the meta message India is sending to the world and its own people is — We are in crisis. We need oxygen, medicine, and beds. Or in other words, firefighting, problem-solving.

But no amount of oxygen cylinder donation or beds set up can prevent the flow of people needing it.

What would we like to have happen?

She said, the crucial message needs to be Stop Spread Now. Prevent people from needing oxygen, beds, and meds.

My other biologist friend also spoke similarly. We are developing a narrative of coping. We can’t cope with a virus that is super adaptive and regenerative. Our systems from centuries of city-vehicle-gadget-dead living doesn’t have the flexibility to sidestep.

No.

Instead, the invitation is to choose the way of the beetle — play dead — and abduct the process of the virus through deception.

How?

**Play Dead**

Double mask up (art of). Physically distance. Avoid crowds. Ventilate closed spaces so it feels like open space. Thoughtful regional lockdown with enough hibernating resources to enact winter on streets.

**Deceive**

Vaccinate so antibodies are formed creating fake histories of familiarity with virus. Vaccinate vulnerable on priority. Use energy to vaccinate those willing. Gather vaccines asap. Sequence samples regularly to identify mutations and test vaccine efficiency. Do epidemiological studies to understand cultural nature of transmission to deceive faster.

I request social media influencers to create and amplify Stop Spread and Zero Covid Now messages. This is the need of the hour.

The pic below is from Independence Day, 2012 somewhere in Odisha. Our bus got stuck in the mud. We got out and pushed.

Sometimes you have to get out of your bus to help it move.