Growing COVID 19 positive cases - Are we celebrating Emperor’s new clothes?

The panic, the fear, the frustration, the hopelessness, anxiety and anger, all kinds of emotions are growing day by day and people are going mad, obviously due to two reasons; one being fear of Corona and the other, obviously the fear of loss of livelihood and employment. 

When we closely look at Indian scenario, I am reminded of the short tale of a Danish writer HC Andersen.  According to the tale, a king was promised by two weavers that they would provide him invisible clothes but the caveat is that only those who are not stupid, incompetent and unfit alone can see the invisible clothes of the king and not those who are otherwise. 

In fact, the weavers did not provide any clothes to the king and made the king to parade naked before the subjects in so called the new clothes or invisible clothes.  King did not question or disbelieve the invisible clothes because had he asked or doubted about the new clothes, that would amounts to the King, incompetent, stupid and unfit.  

When the king paraded through the kingdom, everyone started to praise the new clothes of the king, according to their poetic imagination.  But one child alone wondered how the king can roam around in pappy shame!

We need to ask the very fundamental question of what does corona positive means by PCR test.  It means, the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test has picked up the presence of virus in the nasal or throat swab of an individual.  Yes, he or she carries the virus. 

If we test our body for various pathogens either by direct or indirect methods like PCR, Culture, ELISA etc., many of us may turn positive for several pathogens, without any clinical signs and symptoms.  If we repeat the tests in the same individual after sometime, the probability of the profile remains same is high.  That is India and that is how Indians are.

If we do the profiling of various intestinal parasites, nematodes, protozoa etc., most of the Indians are likely to show weak to moderate positivity for diverse micro-flora and parasites. 

Coming back to the fundamental question of corona positive cases refers nothing but he or she carries virus.  The extremely important question is how long the individual may be carrying the virus?  Whether the individual shows any classic signs and symptoms of the infection?  What could be the viral load or viremia versus the clinical manifestation of the disease?  Another important question is about how a person shows positive for Corona turns negative after sometime? 

It is corona virus fails to multiply in them means, the corona may be dying and hence the individual turns negative for the virus?  Then why it could not multiply and how the virus is getting killed our body?

Yes, the individual who turns positive for corona is likely to spread the virus to others.  How long the virus can survive in human system?  If it can survive long means, it cannot be deadly and if it survives for a very short time, again it shows nothing but the virus is likely to be meek? 

Rapid horizontal transmission through direct contact is not possible for any deadly pathogen? From the perspective of its rapid spread among people, once again it suggests that corona is not as dangerous as how the world has portrayed and demonized corona.  Vulnerable individuals may die of corona.  The vulnerable individuals (people with wide variety of co-morbidities) are any way at risk due to wide variety of opportunistic pathogens.   Then why do we over credit corona?

The psychological aspect of people is the real problem and not corona.  In most diseases, the infected people are infective.  When we say infected, they show most of the early or well defined signs and symptoms of the disease.  But in the case of corona, it is the healthy individuals who are reported to be spreading the virus.  The fear is that those vulnerable are at risk is the real problem.  No one knows who is vulnerable in the given society; it can be you, me or anyone.  The hypochondriac-ism is the real killer and not corona.

It is wise to isolate and protect the ‘vulnerable’ group first or lock down the entire country that is the wise approach? 

Indians are known to live with wide variety of diseases and corona is just another one waiting to join the list.  Before we declare war against corona, should we not ask, whether we need such powerful weaponry to fight corona? 

The first report of Corona positivity in India was in the month of January 2020.  In the last three months, should we not doubt that the corona has not spread across India in the last three months before India go for lock down? 

We have started to test now and hence started to see positivity.  Imagine the possibility of corona had already spread in our population from February onwards and then what happens to all those positive cases? Is it not reasonable and scientific to assume, many would have also turned negative by now? Then had they turned negative without any quarantine?  Why the global science is mute on Indian scenario but aggressively engaged in spreading fear about corona than awareness?

Can we really prevent Corona spread in a country like ours through lock down and social distancing?

If we have to assume corona virus is deadly and dangerous, then complete prevention is necessary and absolute and not partial reduction in a country like ours. 

Can we achieve absolute prevention of corona spread in India? The answer is simple, no, never can we achieve.   Corona is if really such dangerous pathogen as described by the world, life of human species is possible in densely populated country like India.  But such situation will never happen because corona is not that deadly as we presume. 

The approach of Modi government from the beginning has been faulty, disastrous and self-defeating.  Indian and the Indians have to be saved by saving our economy first and corona comes only next.      S Ranganathan