Chennai: At the commencement of lockdown, experts predicted that India may see community spread which is Stage 3 of the pandemic. However, with the isolations on time, we have faced a virulence of pandemic spread which is about only one-eighth of the normal expected run of two lakh cases, says professor Vijayakumar Jayaram.
Speaking to News Today, Vijaykumar says, ‘Although our population is four times of USA, which is geographically three times bigger than India, our people have been obedient in following rules’.
‘Although we have had tragic, rebellious events of social break downs, in general the world’s most diverse population obeyed the lockdown with maximum possible social hygiene preventing Stage 3 that could have otherwise shown 75,000 cases by 3 May’.
He adds, ‘Indian dietary system, family bonding, sunlight, a tropical body metabolism with active lifestyle gives us a better immune system in comparison to those in colder regions of the West’.
Elaborating, Vijaykumar says, ‘Indian skill-sets have tremendously improved since NASSCOM 2010 reports. Our medical fraternity proved to be more skilled then their American counterparts in application of ventilators’.
‘Co-operation, staying together with security forces, essential goods and services establishments doing their duties have only gone to prove that our talents and commitment towards serving the world second largest population is not second to none’.
The need of the hour is original thinking, alternative medicines for immunity and improving management abilities in listening to staff feedbacks although unpleasant’.
He says, ‘Indian scientific expert groups need not go soft or play second fiddle to their foreign expert counterparts. World Health Organisation has failed in its stature. It needs to be audited and re-invented into World Immunity Organisation. Next, the banking sector need not tow narratives laid down by World Bank, for example waiving off interest for a three month period and activate a floating interest for better yields in time. Joint or integrated research into alternative medical systems of Siddha, Unani, Ayurveda should be encouraged. After having social hygiene habits in place and with facts on viral spread being fomitive and not airborne why should not our intellectual leaders redefine social distance. As this will facilitate malls, theaters, railways, buses, schools, hotels, workplaces, peak time travelers etc to function with social hygiene without changing our infra-structure’, he winds up.