WE HAVE to live with the virus. These words have somewhat become like an anthem in this time of despair. There has not been a day since March 8, when the world, barring a few countries, has not reported record spike in COVID-19 cases. Yet, it has become ingrained in our collective consciousness that we have to live with this novel coronavirus, like over a thousand other pathogens, including hiv, Ebola, cholera and rabies, that are now part of our ecosystem and keep cropping up from time to time (see ‘Bats spread viruses, so do humans’, p38). This mood of resigned acceptance also reflects in the strategies of political leadership across countries, including India.
On May 8, while holding a press briefing, Lav Agarwal, India’s official spokesperson on the COVID-19 crisis, said: “It is important that today when we are talking about relaxation, when we are talking about return of migrant workers, we have a great challenge and we need to understand that we have to learn to live with the virus.” Earlier on May 4, as the Union government extended the nationwide lockdown, dubbed the biggest in world history, to 54 days, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal also used “living with the virus” as a truism while urging the Union government for dilution of the lockdown rules. With 7,998 cases and 106 deaths as on May 11, Delhi is the third worst affected state in the country.
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