Dr. Nirmal Kandel

Once upon a time, there were three persons in a city called Corona. Their names were Pauper, Average and Affluent. Pauper, who used to work in the city centre in a construction company as a daily wageworker and had a family of six. Average, who used to work in a private company as a business analyst and had a family of four. Affluent, who used to manage his own business and had provided employment opportunities to many people like Pauper and Average. All three of them were living happily until they found a new enemy in the city called COIVD-19, an airborne viral infection that can affect millions of people around the world. In the beginning, all of them thought that this would go easily like other epidemics. However, the enemy had affected their lifestyles heavily. There were new rules in the city which had stopped Pauper from continuing daily wage work, while Average started teleworking from home and Affluent continued as the same as if nothing had happened.
Pauper's routine had changed after the outbreak of coronavirus. Earlier, Pauper used to rush to the city centre every day on a public bus. Their kids used to grab whatever available in their one-room dwelling and used to go to the nearest public school. Daily income from Pauper's work used to bring food for the family, stationeries for kids, garments for them, and rent for their one-room suburban hut. Despite these limitations, all of them were happy and enjoying their lives, and dreaming about a future that a day is not far away when life would be better. However, the deadly contagion started changing their lifestyle, and they faced unbearable hardships.
The city had restrictive measures in place to tame the virus. Pauper's daily wage market remained open, but the closure of public transportation made it impossible for one to travel to the city centre from sub-urban areas. Pauper loaned a bicycle from the nearest vendor; however, after a few months owing to strict measures and limited business, the labour market fell and eventually, it was closed. Kids' schools were closed, as their school could not afford online schooling, which meant they were deprived of their rights for education. Loss of income combined with rising prices of essentials further complicated the situation. Pauper managed from the hard-earned savings for a week, and then they had to stop taking their second meal of a day.
As their supplies ended, they started queuing once a day in a community centre where some philanthropists were distributing free food to people. It is hard to adhere to guidelines about physical distancing when people had to queue up to get hold of a meal.
To add agony to their hardship, he admitted one of his kids in a hospital for appendicitis. Pauper had to beg and plead to authorities of a government hospital free surgery. The first-year resident did the surgery, who used her resources. While the kid recovered from the infection, because of close contact in the hospital, Pauper developed symptoms of COVID-19. Owing to limited access to social media and limited outreach of the local city authority, they do not have access to messages on the social and public health measures.
Pauper went for a test, stayed in a queue for three hours, where many people were not either maintaining physical distancing or wearing masks. Finally, after two days, Pauper tested positive. Fortunately, the infection was mild, and Pauper was isolated at a one-room home. However, the unexpected event unfolded when their close neighbours, family friends and other nearby friends stigmatised them and protested outside of their home to leave the area. They were forced to abandon their house by the local community when they required their support, and they returned to their rural village.
The journey to their village was difficult, as they had to walk 200 kilometres because of the lockdown of long-distance public transportation. It took them three days and nights to reach their village. Because of infection, physical fatigue, and lack of enough food and water on the way, Pauper crashed and never recovered when they reached the village. This is a story of a daily wageworker of places where there is no support from the government. How many people like Pauper are going to lose lives because of COVID-19?
The daily routine of Average too had changed after the outbreak of pandemic. Morning rush hours of preparing kids for school and lunch and driving or biking to the office were the daily chores of the family of Average. Kids used to grab their breakfast and put on the school dress, and Average used to drop them to the pickup point of the school bus.
Every day the routine was to start a day with a cup of coffee or tea and gossip in the office, followed up by hectic hours of meetings and routine work. In the evening, the family used to gather around a dining table and talked about school, office and latest events in social media. Average and their kids busy surfing the net or watching YouTube videos. They were planning for a holiday for the summer in a lakeside resort with two days hiking in the mountains.
However, the pandemic and restrictions had completely changed their lifestyles, activities and plans. Offices and schools moved to teleworking and online schooling, respectively. Quickly, Average had to rush to the computer store to buy two sets of new computers for their junior family members for their online school. Morning chores had changed, and their home became their office, school and a playground.
There was no rush for morning breakfast and preparing kids for the school and lunch for the office anymore. Kids started waking up just before their online school. They even had to increase the capacity of the internet. However, the speed never increased during surfing hours other than in monthly bills. Everyone was enjoying teleworking and online school, and most of the other time they spent their time in social media, watching online movies, videos and shopping in online stores. No wonder Tech giants and online businesses are the ones who are benefiting from CONTAGION19 and making a lot out of it.
The Average family had time to access all kinds of information, both real and false, related to COVID-19 and others. The virus had become a fertile ground for developing and sharing false information, causing infodemic of wrong information as if many people are suffering from information disorder syndrome, a condition when false information is shared with or without the intent of harming or affecting others repeatedly.
However, after a couple of months, their lifestyle became so monotonous that they started missing their friends, gossips, shopping malls, watching movies and eating outside. Gradually, this had led to psychological distress in the family, in relationships and at work. Sense of humour was a trademark of Average in the office and at home, but Average started becoming irritated so easily, which affected behaviours, attitude and performance.
Relationship with the spouse deteriorated dramatically, shouting at kids became a new normal, and finally, unhappiness with the work had reached another height. Average had a great social network and extended family. They used to visit regularly their relatives, especially their old parents. However, owing to restrictive measures, their rendezvous was only possible through Facetime or WhatsApp.
One day, Average developed the signs and symptoms of dreaded contagion. Average called a local general practitioner for advice and tested positive, which led to isolation at home and quarantining of the rest of the family. Average had no clue about the source of infection. Average developed some severe signs of the disease and required intensive care.
But family and friends of Average failed to find intensive care bed in the city, and after two days Average succumbed to the infection. Later the family found out that the only one ICU bed that was available in the town was provided to a patient of the city's Mayor. The spouse of Average continued their life with whatever saving they have, with a hope of spouse finding a decent job to run their livelihoods, schooling of kids and preparing for the so-called next wave of restrictive measures.
Daily routines of Affluent had changed little after COVID-19|with a few exceptions. There was never any hustle and bustle of morning hours in their lives. They drove kids to schools in their limousine in one of the elite schools of the city. Affluent used to enjoy morning breakfast with spouse and take a few early calls owing to time differences around the world, which were always linked to some business deals.
Every day, Affluent had to get a briefing from staff and joined meetings. After the office, Affluent always had dinner meetings or rendezvous with bankers, investors and leading politicians. Affluent regularly attend indoor political meetings as they were a primary source of funding to major political parties of the country. The lifestyle of Affluent restrictions had not affected much, nor in the businesses.
The only difference was that many of face-to-face business meetings converted into virtual platforms, from which the company was benefiting by saving travel and meeting expenses.
Some of their business portfolios may have faced recession, especially in tourism and leisure businesses, but other portfolios continued as the same. Therefore, the overall impact on Affluent was almost negligible. Their kids too started online school. Affluent continued to attend meetings with politicians, bankers and business communities, and it looked like the entire groups were not affected at all by the virus. Any business that went to a recession, they were bailed out from the government funds, particularly with the support of politicians whom Affluent used to meet regularly.
One day Affluent developed symptoms and went for testing on the first day, which turned out negative. However, the signs and symptoms did not recede, and their family physician advised them to test again, which turned out to be positive after five days of onset of symptoms. Affluent was in isolation at home, as the symptoms were mild. There were a couple of caretakers at home, and unfortunately, one of their caretakers developed similar symptoms and tested positive too. Affluent's condition exacerbated suddenly and was rushed to one of the elite hospitals for treating the coronavirus.
Affluent required intensive care, but no intensive care units were available in the city and nearby. However, the bed was managed within a short time despite severe shortage with the help of the city's Mayor.
Affluent stayed in the ICU and the luxury cabin in a five-star hospital for a few days and then discharged. After recovery, Affluent went on live TV shows sharing his experience, made headlines in most of the mainstream media and social media. Affluent continued the same lifestyle and businesses as usual.
Everyone is affected by deadly virus irrespective of income level, race or belief; however, the most affected are the blue-collar workers (Like Pauper). The situation is so much worse that there is no point of return for them if the government does not take care of immediately.
There are mere chances of continuation of the labour market as before for a couple of years because of uncertainty of virus behaviour, restrictive measures and economic recession. The current COVID-19 affected situation is going to exacerbate their conditions, income, pain and agony further.
In the beginning, it looked like that person like Average has suffered little; however, when their savings dried up, because of household income loss caused by laying off by their employers because of recession or new working modalities. When there are no bailout plans for these people by the government, they will continue to suffer.
The vicious cycle of the current situation and its impact in the future is scarier than what some pundits are predicting. It is the time when every government must take care of their citizens for their welfare the way they were taking care of their country. Otherwise, as Darwin said that there would be a lot of struggles among humans in the race called, the "Survival of the Fittest", which would have consequences that no one has imagined.

(Dr Kandel is an epidemiologist and an anthropologist and can be reached at: kandeln@gmail.com)