The Covid-19 crisis has been unlike anything we have witnessed in our lifetimes. No surprise then, that we have had to improvise at every step. The death toll has been colossal, and there is anger and sadness in many, particularly those who have personally lost loved ones. One of the questions that arises, of course, is: Should the crisis be handled differently, and how should we handle it moving forward, knowing what we know now?
In a Christmas message, WHO Director-General Tedro Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, with regards to those who lost their lives in the pandemic: “We must not squander their sacrifices, nor those made by so many families who, this holiday season, will sit at family tables missing a familiar face.”
Indeed, we must learn our lesson from 2020. Even after over 1.75 million people have died worldwide, many refuse to admit the gravity of the pandemic. In Bangladesh, for example, many still flout the most tried and true, and the most obvious measures from preventing the spread of Covid-19. People should be wearing masks, they should be practising social distancing, and they should be regularly washing their hands or applying hand-sanitizer. In the months since the pandemic broke out in March, though, after the initial fear and panic died down, many have reverted to old pre-pandemic behaviours.
In spite of assurances, the fact is, we are not yet out of the woods. While a vaccine is on the horizon, more people are bound to die between now the arrival of the vaccine on our hands. Too many have died. Let us not dishonour them by being cavalier right now.