Covid-19 Will Be Tamed Eventually...

...but before that it could irreversibly change the world in some aspects

- N Madhavan

MATTERS OF FACT

The world is confronting a pandemic that has already cost it over 19,000 lives and infected half a million people. It has tested and left wanting even the best healthcare systems. Left with little choice, many countries, including India, have resorted to an unprecedented nationwide lockdown. The virus is all set to send the global economy into a recession even as various countries throw fiscal prudence to the wind and announce far-reaching stimulus to combat the economic fallout of the epidemic which is still far from being contained.

Success seen in its containment — be it in China, South Korea or Singapore — gives hope that the world will eventually tame the virus even if it has to pay dearly in terms of the lives lost and economic setback. But what is becoming increasingly clear is that before Covid-19 is conquered, it may have changed irrevocably the way the world operates, at least in some aspects.

New practices

The need for social distancing is exposing people to new ways of carrying on with their lives. Many outside of the IT sector have resorted to work from home (WFH). Companies, which were hitherto concerned about data protection and cybersecurity, have been forced to find a way out to keep their operations going by getting their employees to operate from home.