LITTLE DID WE KNOW - CORONA VIRUS (Part 2)

91% of the Indian students would still like to continue their abroad dreams for their education which is saddening because they are trying hard to not keep their dreams from shattering away due to the effect of this deadly virus. A study was conducted by edu-tech platform Leverage Edu on the Indian students who had registered on the platform for studying abroad in the next 6-10 months revealed that 76% students surveyed were planning to go ahead with their education abroad in the next 6-10 months (upcoming September or January intakers) ; 16% students said that they will take a decision about studying abroad by the summer, while 8% are considering delaying the decision due to the Covid-19 outbreak ; the above numbers changed when students were informed about the steps being taken by international universities. Around 25% of the students weren’t aware of the contingency measures taken by universities for the September 2020 and January 2021 intakes such as blended learning options. More than 70% of the students prefer an international healthcare system. Canada and the UK ranked among the most trusted international healthcare systems by Indian students followed by US, India, Germany, Sweden and Finland; 76% of the surveyed students are headed for post-graduate programmes, while the remaining 34% are in the undergraduate category ; The study found that UK was the most preferred study destination for Indian students. It got 28% of the votes. Australia, Germany and France are the other top choices voted by 20% students ; Canada and US are close second choices to study abroad with 15% and 18% votes respectively (https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/study-abroad/story/why-91-indian-studentswant-to-study-abroad-even-in-covid-19-lockdown-1668999-2020-04-20).

To overcome this incongruity, the International universities are coming up with way outs like moving all classes online, providing pre sessional English online courses for the proficiency tests that these students has to take up in order to get admitted in the abroad universities, 24/7 student online supports are kicked off, health and sanitary measures are improved in these universities to prevent the spread by dismissing the student meetings and other gatherings organized. 

Are these lockdowns and the situations new to our country or has already happened? Were they conquered successfully without any fear and has the lock downs been successful over the years? What is the history of lock- downs? Did they occur only for incidences of pandemic or also for something else?

 Acknowledging to this, the lockdowns are not a new phenomenon and has occurred centuries back – during the Plague of Justinian (600 AD) and also during the Black Death (1340s). And this isolation of the affected patients came from which was practised in early modern Europe. Many Italian city states heeded quarantine times in the 15^th century to isolate the sick people affected with the plague. The confinement practice dates back with France and London that adopted it for the first time during the London’s great plague of 1665 and Marseilles outbreak in 1720 in order to prevent people from the exposure of the deadly disease. This was in accordance to what Boccaccio dictated in his book describing the Black Death where the disease spread like a fire due to contact from the sick to the normal person. Anyhow this quarantine measures were detained during the 19^th century which did not stop the outbreak of any disease. The diseases kept emerging and still the world and its people strived hard enough to restrain from becoming its prey. Many disastrous diseases like Influenza pandemic, SARS followed. In China during the outbreak of SARS, the confinement practices were encountered. It is also interesting to know that the anti-SARS lockdown policy in China in 2003, followed by a comprehensive epidemic control plan, taught China how to contain the coronavirus outbreak in 2020.

While we are complaining about this lockdown to be very disruptive we have to comprehend that we are somehow helping the workers and those officials who are in the verge to save the citizens and to turn back the whole nation to its normal face by not interrupting them. Just think about the most “dark lockdown” that occurred during the Chernobyl accident that led millions to the fatalities and sufferings. Be responsible and act responsible. This is not the time to prove who did wrong and who seeded the disease, instead quick witted and wise response is counted on.