Preparing for a lockdown

Just saw the news this morning and the patient numbers are rising dramatically. In only 3 days, the worldwide infected number went up from 300,000 to 500,000+. Australian government is discussing a lock down. Two of the states (NSW and VIC) are prepared to go it alone if other states do not agree.

This is too fast too much. While we are working from home to build things that helps people with the COVID19 situation, people outside are going crazy. Even though some people are still going out to work in things that are allowed to stay open, most of us are at home. According to some reports, almost one fourth of the Earth's population is in a lock down right now. And soon, the number is expected to increase.

It's amazing how people are taking this honestly. Yes, it is true that some people are going outside and not fully complying with the social distancing measures. But it is still astounding to witness the degree to which they are. I watched a couple say on TV that they understand the need for social distancing and not going out. That they understand how the entire economy is at risk. But they are still okay with that. You do not see this everyday in people. This is sacrifice on a global scale. Same kind of sacrifices being made by people worldwide. I cannot help think that this is an opportunity. This is an example. We are an example.

My co workers are taking it pretty good. Most of us report still at the same time, nobody is calling it sick. Everybody is working dangerously hard to keep things moving. I am enjoying the energy everybody has each despite working from home. Working from home is not easy. It is extremely distracting. It is even more distracting if you have children. The TV is distracting, it is full of news that you need to look at to stay updated. Working is even harder since you have to now put in words everything. When in our actual workplace, we can easily communicate by throwing questions in the air. Somebody would answer if they knew. Otherwise we'd get more descriptive approaches. It is just easier to work at a dedicated workspace. But at home, you do not have those luxuries. You have to make sure every change is notified about. If you are doing something for someone, you should probably ping them and let them know. Things can't be discussed easily. Everybody idea has to be put in text which is frustrating at times. Still, we are going strong. I love the spirit. Thank you Internet.

Thank you God.

It's too difficult to change the world

We have a predisposition of not being able to think that the world can change, or can be changed. We believe that people are really hard to penetrate. But look at the world today. This is 26th March, 2020. The world has fundamentally prepared itself for lockdown. It didn't take any terrorists, it didn't take any earthquake. Something they cannot even see or feel has paralysed every single person. We are literally prepared to sacrifice everything. Research has changed, Wars are paused, Education system is expandable, People are home, Economies are secondary people are primary. When did you last dream of this? Did you ever even imagine this could happen? I didn't.

But if you pause to think about it, we are only hearing numbers. Deaths, Infections, Recoveries. But did you see any bodies? Did you see the Virus? Where is it? Or is it even real?

If we, for one second stop and take this all as normal, you'd be astounded. Imagine this being something you are expected to expect from the world. Everybody fighting for one goal, no wars, no business, just health and people. If you cannot imagine living in a world like that I feel sorry for you.

Some of the most valuable things are free today. Research, for example, is fully open on COVID-19. Worldwide, thousands of researchers from different countries are communicating through COVID-19 Portal that lets them all share information about their progress on developing a vaccine for COVID-19. These same people, these same countries were super secretive about their research projects until they reached a patent. Every research was about Patent. But today we are all fighting to get a cure. For that, we are ready to risk leaking research as well. Because everything else is secondary now.

Countries are literally pushing people to go home. For the first time in recent history, everybody can go home and forget about jobs. If it's there, keep working. If not, just stay home and the Government will feed you. In some South Asian countries, people are being beaten on the streets to force them to go home. Law enforcement agencies are now enforcing isolation. This is unprecedented. In Australia, for example, the Government didn't enforce a lockdown, yet. And they are seemingly very reluctant to do that. The Prime Minister didn't even want the schools to close. He is keeping on insisting that Schools remain open so that Education of children keeps going on. He is also worried about the Health Care System, worried about the Economy. But despite all the daunting worries and uncertainties, he is doing what is absolutely necessary. Many governments around the world have gone into complete shutdown for different number of days. Some for weeks. But he is imposing restrictions level by level. Monitoring the progress each time, seemingly trying to strike a balance where the Pandemic's curve is flattening and also the Economy is not in a standstill. Victorian government on the other hand, has put in place lockdown. Governments are facing these challenges and solving the problems.

All these actions to strike a balance makes me wonder if it could be the norm. Using as less possible to gain as much as possible should have been every Government's goal. If we can sustain with so less, weren't we wasting all our capacity all these years? If you look at the financial figures, US is releasing a $2 trillion package to help people and the economy. Where did this money come from? And could it have been used earlier to solve many other problems? Or are we having to lose too much for something that could have been too little. US is notoriously known for it's broken healthcare system. Maybe if US invested a portion of this money into it's healthcare, it could cope up with this crisis even earlier and easier?

All this seems too optimistic from the Governments. These same Governments were some of the most secretive. People had lost faith in them in many countries. If you go to Facebook, Twitter, you would see hundreds of posts, pages criticising actions of Governments. But now, all of a sudden, Governments are the heroes. Doctors are the most sought after people. And people are super obedient. This is a shift too big to grasp. To be honest, it almost feels like a preparation. Something is shifting somewhere, as if.

The Virus

Just started working form home since yesterday. It's not as usual. The government isn't putting on a lockdown even though many people here would like to see a lockdown happen. I wouldn't though. I do not feel like a lockdown can solve the problem.