MyVoice: Views of our readers 31st March 2020

No one knows when all this will end

It is alarming to read reports on the growing number coronavirus cases in the country. One simple measure of the spread of the virus is the doubling rate, that is, the number of days it takes for cases to double in a particular area.

According to the latest figures available, up to March 25, India's doubling rate is less than four days, compared to seven days for the world as a whole. In fact, between March 21 and 25, the number of confirmed cases in India went up 2.4 times (from 231 to 562); according to government statistics, this number is now over 1,000.

Bear in mind that these are confirmed cases, and it is almost certain that the number of actual cases is significantly higher than the number confirmed. This is why it seems fair to say that things are not going well for India at this moment.

Of the 193 countries that are member-States of the United Nations, 170 have confirmed Covid-19 cases; among the 23 that haven't reported cases, about 10 probably have cases but either don't have the testing facilities to confirm or are not telling.

In short, this is a pandemic which has different rates of growth in different parts of the globe, with patterns still difficult to discern, at least in terms of affected areas.

To put it bluntly, no one knows how the pandemic will spread and when it may come to an end: the most optimistic estimates put it at six to eight months for the world as whole, others stretch it out into the foreseeable future.

Whichever way one looks at it, this will be a protracted, bitter, exhausting, and potentially devastating struggle, and the sooner we start to take measures that are both sensible and practical, the better it will be for all of us.

Parvathy Reddy K, Hyderabad

Coronavirus doesn't spare anyone on religious grounds!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked us to stay put at home, patiently, for three weeks. We must all listen and comply. It will not come as a surprise if our patience is further tested and the date advanced.

The US, the most powerful country on earth, is experiencing the truth of the virus only now after precautions were put in place. Rough calculations picked from TV commentators' dire warnings indicate June-end/July as the time of relief.

And what about the economic and social costs that every afflicted country has to bear inevitably? The present indications are that economic activity may have to restart from low if not near-bottom levels when normalcy is restored. Germany and Japan overcame obstacles to recovery and shone after their defeat in World War II.

Even the victorious Allies had to work hard to readjust to peacetime industries. We, too, will overcome! Modi came to power in 2014 on a promise of development. He veered out in 2019 to his party's majoritarian agenda.

When the corona is behind us, it will be wise of him to use his leadership and communication skills to lead us to work hard for "Sabka Vikas", a concept to which he has paid only lip service till now.

In the time of the corona, every Indian, be he or she a Hindu or a Muslim or Christian or Sikh, is equally targeted by the virus. No one was exempted on grounds of religious belief, or caste or economic status.

Modi should take note of this and take us all along. His leadership in the time of the corona has been tested and applauded.

He can capitalise on the virus to sow unity in the country on the platform of a universal humanity that needs to be protected from some future viruses which can decimate each and every one of us, whether Hindu or Muslim.

S Jayaprakash Rao, Hyderabad