We are well into the second wave of the pandemic. COVID-19 started late 2019 and peaked in the middle of 2020. Then a pause came into the numbers of cases. We all took a sigh of relief only for a short while. Now we are facing the second wave. It was something expected, yet the magnitude of it is more than anticipated. The level of sickness is taking us all off guard and it seems that we are again in the same situation as we were in the first wave.
The most concerning thing is that the people have developed a false sense of security that more than 90% of patients will get better so they have assumed that all of them will either have no problem or only mild illness, if at all they get the COVID-19. This approach is not just faulty and dangerous but also irresponsible as it leads to increasing spread of virus as well as virus reaching to people who will not be lucky enough to have mild disease. Also since the devastation of virus is still not fully understood, plenty of problems will be seen afterwards and so far staying clear of the virus is the single best solution for most of the people. This requires personal responsibility as not all the instructions need to come from the government or the doctors and healthcare professionals. It is utmost important to exercise safety and protect ourselves from all exposures.
Healthcare delivery has limitations which include space, response to any new illness, competence, availability and cost. So the best way to protect ourselves is prevention from exposure to things that have potential to harm us like COVID-19. Gaining knowledge about disease is important especially when it pertains to treatment, and the most important aspect of knowledge is about prevention. Healthcare resources in Pakistan are limited, and due to this we are seeing an overburdened system struggling to deal with the burden of disease. In order to avoid the further exhaustion of health systems, each one of us needs to feel personal responsibility and to avoid exposing themselves to Covid-19. This way the healthcare system would be able to deal with the disease burden.
Each one of us needs to understand that by keeping ourselves safe we stop the spread of virus and that in turn keep other safe. These people who need to be protected may include vulnerable population like elderly, pregnant women, patients on dialysis or patients with multiple medical problems. By following precautions we will not only prevent the effect of COVID-19 but also help healthcare system deal with this vast number of patients.
It is imperative for each one of us to continue to use precautions like wearing mask, keep physical distancing in public as well as with elderly and lastly do frequent hand washing. This will show that the people understand the problem and are willing to safeguard each other through the use of protective measures. The impact of COVID-19 is continued and I am hopeful that with the above strategy we will decrease the impact of the pandemic and come out of it with least amount of damage. Thank you.