Physically apart but a chance to get closer than ever…

There is lot of talk on social distancing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world. I find it interesting that this terminology is being used in this situation. The media being used worldwide to stay connected is “social” media, and this distancing may be keeping us physically apart, but it has made us more sociable than ever. So why are we calling it social distancing? Let’s call it physical distancing instead. In these days of lockdowns and janta curfews, what society needs is social proximity. Without that, people in isolation for three weeks and possibly more, will lose touch with humanity.

Worldwide people are trying their best to maintain social proximity:

• My niece is in self quarantine at my place in one room – we call each other on WhatsApp during breakfast, lunch and dinner to at least feel connected while eating
• My daughter who is stuck in London (thankfully at my cousin’s place, and not in her student apartment / pigeon hole) talks about :

o   Online workout sessions on Zoom

o   Playing online poker with her friend

o   Watching a movie at the same time online with another friend elsewhere

• My school WhatsApp group members have decided to call one friend in the group each day to catch up and see how they’re doing – I have now spoken to so many of my schoolmates with whom I have not had a phone conversation for years
• Families are keeping WhatsApp video on for a 5 minute prayer every day
• Several people are working from home and many kids have online classes being conducted by their teachers
• People around the world have come up with various ingenious ways of staying in touch with family and friends, creating a sense of camaraderie in these otherwise isolating times.

Social proximity does not end with friends and family. There are several ways we can contribute to the society at large in these trying times. For example:

• Pay salary / charges for a month in advance to your house help, gardener, newspaper guy, laundry guy etc.
• Check with your corner grocery shop if they can still deliver grocery or send them an advance payments through Paytm if possible
• Even if your kid is not going to school, pay the monthly charges to the school auto / van guy. And the likes…
• Any event, travel plans etc. that needs to be changed, if possible, don’t cancel and seek refund – just postpone the plans. Those businesses need that critical cash flow.

One thing we all must do is respect and help the people on the frontline battling the virus – the doctors, nurses, paramedical staff etc. Respect them as much you would respect the armed forces during a war – fighting this virus, risking their own lives, is no less than a war.

The governments are trying their best to do what they can in this unprecedented circumstance, but some additional measures will go a long way in lessening the misery of the poor. For starters, the government could:

• Make the COVID-19 tests free for everyone and devise a mechanism to compensate the private labs for carrying out the tests
• Test mandatorily 100% of the frontline folks - all doctors, nurses, police, grocery shopkeepers etc - they are the ones interacting with people in this lockdown and needs to be protected as well as quarantined if tested positive
• Create a more sustainable method of delivering food rations / food packets to the needy throughout the lockdown (many municipalities and panchayats are already doing this)

One of the most important things to think about is what happens after the 21 day lockdown in India is over. Does it mean the end of physical distancing and everything will go back to normal? If the initial plan of the 3 week lockdown fails to control the virus outbreak, Plan B cannot simply rely on hope, or extending the countrywide lockdown for few more weeks. There needs to be a solid contingency plan to lift the lockdown, and this will have to be a gradual and multi-phased approach. The biggest challenge that health workers will face is the lack of capacity for the rising number of patients in hospitals. The only way to handle this capacity issue in the short term is to narrow the scope of the battleground. Some cities may have to come out of the lockdown earlier, with other cities lending doctors, nurses, medical equipment etc. to the areas being opened up. And some kind of domestic travel ban put in place to ensure the population in the two areas don’t mix during this period.

If the lockdown continues we are opting for survival of richest and not survival of fittest, as the poor can’t survive for long without working for their livelihood.

Now let’s take a peek into the future:
As the world population continues to grow, and our lifestyles and food habits don’t change, and we continue to disrespect nature, we are bound to have another pandemic sometime in the future. If that happens, some aspects of life may change for ever:

• Everyone will shift to the Indian namaste or the Japanese bow instead of handshakes and hugs as a form of greeting
• Some fashion designer will come up with designer masks – you can’t expect a Bollywood actress to wear a white mask with a stunning red dress 😊
• Architects / Interior designers will start making some changes to way our houses are built: all doors will open both ways and have a mechanism to open the door with your feet instead of handling door knobs.
• Elevator companies will introduce voice activated buttons for selecting level / floors
• Apple Watch or Fitbit will add a feature to their product - If you try touching your face without washing your hands it will beep to remind you!
• Perfume companies will get into the business of scented hand sanitizers
• There will be sneeze guards in places where queues form (this has actually already been implemented in some grocery chains in US)

We may be able to do all this, but the next pandemic maybe a waterborne disease!

Countries will begin to wonder – we have such a large military force to confront the enemy on the borders, but so little for this kind of a different attack. The next war will not be fought on the borders, it will be either electronic or biological. So, countries may start exploring ways to repurpose part of the military force to confront these more likely enemies of future!