On Friday, 5th May, the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the end of pandemic. The WHO on 11th March 2020 had declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global pandemic. Prior to this WHO had declared on 30th January 2020 the ongoing spread of infections as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The word pandemic has all the words that are in panic.
As early as 23rd January 2020, I had issued a health alert company-wide via an email. I had talked about it informally to many about a possible global spread.
It was perhaps the first ever health advisory on Covid sent to a select community in India. This was on the basis that it had spread to many countries, China is not very far away from India, increased international travel can cause infections to spread rapidly and the US CDC on 1st January 2020 identified that a wet animal market was responsible for the outbreak.
The text of the advisory sent is in italics below.
Health alert: Wuhan virus – 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV)
23 January 2020
Dear colleagues
A new virus (2019 novel coronavirus – 2019 nCoV) that seems to have originated from infected animals at a seafood market in the Wuhan district of China is causing respiratory illness, pneumonia and death in some instances. Around 574 people in China and six abroad have been diagnosed with infection of which 17 have died.
The entire city of Wuhan has been quarantined. Airports and railway stations in Wuhan have been temporarily closed. Isolated cases have been reported from USA, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Thailand. No case has been identified in India however, thermal screening of passengers at the international airports in many countries including India and USA has commenced.
World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet declared the Wuhan virus as a ‘public health emergency of international concern.’
As human-to-human transmission is possible the following actions are recommended:
- Do not visit wet markets or farms
- Keep distance from people who are sick
- Maintain good personal hygiene
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and
- use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Carry hand sanitiser for use when soap and water are not readily available.
- Avoid touching your face
- Avoid direct contact with animals (live or dead) and their environment. Do
- not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with droppings.
- Ensure food, including eggs and meat are thoroughly cooked
Seek medical attention if you develop symptoms, especially fever or shortness of breath. Do not travel if you are sick as many countries have implemented screening, and travelers may face quarantine and testing.
On 20th January 2020, China had announced 200 infected cases with 3 deaths. By 22nd January, the number of cases in China had more than doubled at 500 with 17 deaths. This was enough to unleash panic.
The word pandemic has all the words that are in panic. Is the pandemic around, I thought, and wanted to alert people in my influence – by a health advisory to employees and verbally to known people. Some were upset that I was over-reacting and creating fear!
On 27th January 2020, I attended a 4-day international conference on Occupational Health in Mumbai where discussion around Covid did take place.
The learnings from Covid are evergreen. They are the writing on the wall. Following them on a continual basis will allow us to manage a lot of diseases, including infectious diseases like the seasonal influenza and milder forms of Covid in future.
The declaration of end of pandemic does not mean end of good habits that pandemic taught. Covid is still killing. As I write, Covid continues to kill one person every 5 minutes somewhere in the world – that is about 100,000 people annually. The threat of pandemic like situation remains.
In developing countries, including India, it is still necessary to use a mask as it is a barrier to the dust in the air. The dust contains a lot of allergens, pollens and spores of diseases causing germs.
I continue to use mask whenever I visit a hospital or sit in an autorickshaw in Mumbai to commute and feel happy when I see some autorickshaw drivers continuing to use the mask.
Everyone should be mindful of the good habits learnt during the pandemic and must continue to follow them to prevent from getting sick personally and to prevent a pandemic like situation to erupt again.
Pandemic taught us to wash hands the correct way. Never be in a hurry to wash hands. Improperly washed hands can lead to self-infestation as well as cause a lot of diseases.
Business owners, public health experts, Occupational Health physicians, NGOs, schools and colleges and other public figures should continue to engage the population to remind them of the good habits and follow them regularly just as they did during the pandemic.
A pandemic may strike again – we do not know when, we have no idea about its nature or intensity. But in an over- populous, highly competitive world, organizing a pandemic and creating disruption is far more easier than using military. Individuals and governments should be aware of this possibility and be ready to tackle it. The Covid pandemic experience will help, both the individuals and the governments! As an Occupational Health (OH) physician working in an industry, keeping the workers in a state of healthcare readiness will help them improve their selfcare.
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Dr Ajay Sati is an Occupational Health physician who prefers to describe himself as an Occupationist, to denote, ‘an expert in diseases and other concerns of occupations’. Dr Sati has managed health and wellness programs in industries he worked, like the atomic energy, and energy (oil & gas) in India and overseas. An experienced virtual consultation expert he was involved in many greenfield and brownfield projects providing inputs from health point of view.
