Finally , its almost over ! And entire year of pain, suffering and staying indoors. Centuries from now, historians are going to compare every doomsday year with the year 2020; a year which was supposed to be of hope , fun and all things good, but ended up killing more people than any natural calamity. This is a bar set too high.
For those of us who survived this year, it is easy to forget who scared we ourselves were at various points in time. The first few cases reported where all in Wuhan, China. It began with the hush-hush announcement of the pandemic, followed by the over confident response of world governments that we can easily survive this, and took a while for the reality to set in. That despite our world-class health systems and preparedness, we had no idea how to contain COVID-19.
And that is when the fear set in; when it was reported that there are now cases in our neighborhood, in the adjacent street, or in our office space. It was as if the whole world had gone to war, first with an invisible enemy, but then with each other. It was one thing to watch from safety as a distant country tore itself, totally another thing when the killer is next door.
As I write this, more than 1.7 million people have died world over due to the Corona virus. No amount of consolation can help the survivors of these deaths.
The virus is still out there, but 2021 now brings hope of its end. More than one vaccine has been shortlisted, and the world will eagerly wait for these life-saving drugs. We saw how at various points, ignorance and petty religious views infected more people. But science has won, as science has always won through the centuries.
For once, lets hope nothing great or worse happens this year. Lets hope for a totally normal year, a boring year where we can all go back to living our lives outdoors.
To clear your mind, here is a picture of a totally normal day somewhere in Switzerland.
Wish you a truly Happy New Year !