It was around 5pm on March 17, 2020. The nursing administrator was on the other side of the phone: “Dr Abraham, we may have a patient in the clinic with possible exposure to Covid-19.” I was impressed by the calmness in her voice. Not yet spring, it was still cold outside and snow was melting on the ground.
The first case of Covid-19 was reported in the US on January 20 in Washington State, from a man who had been to China. The first case in New York was reported on March 1 from a person who had been to Europe. Ohio (where I work and live) had its first cases only eight days prior to it, in a couple who had been on a Nile River cruise.
When the first case of Covid-19 was reported from Wuhan in December 2019, I was curious. I had started training in the US in 1994, when the world was learning more about the AIDS epidemic. When Wuhan started getting overwhelmed by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), all of us knew it could be bad. When I began getting emails and tweets from friends in Italy, the anxiety grew. On January 31, Italy banned all flights from China and went into lockdown on March 8.
On March 17, even though most of the patients were done for the day, our cancer centre’s third floor clinic area was buzzing with activity. I could see anxious family members in winter jackets pacing the hallway.
My oncology colleague, who had been taking care of the patient with potential Covid-19 exposure, was waiting for me. His glasses were fogged through his mask and I could not see his eyes.
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Denne historien er fra November 29, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
