Real-Life Avengers of Today: Fighting Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic
They are out there battling the virus every day to keep us all alive and safe indoors
Today is just another day where 90% of us around the world are under quarantine, working from home or attending online lectures. Everything is locked down and we can no longer step out like we used to. It is the weekend already but hardly feels like one as we’ve been indoors pretty much throughout the week.
The world is anxiously waiting for miracle vaccines/drugs that can put a stop to Coronavirus. Just for the moment, we can finally resume our normal lives. Everyone has their eyes set on Scientists and Researchers with a hope that they will save humanity. However, let’s take a minute to replay our week and rethink ‘who’ is actually saving us Today and continuously putting their lives at risk by getting out there to help us see another day.
Whether it’s China or Italy, Iran or India, these Superheroes in disguise are among us:
1. Doctors/Nurses/Paramedics/Healthcare Professionals and Hospital Admin Staff
Duty before everything else. Amidst all the chaos, Doctors and Healthcare professionals are reporting to Hospitals and Medical Facilities every day, to treat casualties and infected patients.
They are not unknown to the fact that exposure to the ‘virus’ will not just put them at risk but it would mean the sacrifice of their personal life that could prevent them from seeing their loved ones. It is a choice they make every day for humanity.
Not just them, hospital admin staff such as front desk staff, receptionists, cashiers etc have to report to the office to help the panicked among us, get help.
Headlines like these are absolutely heartbreaking:
Doctors and nurses fighting coronavirus in China die of both infection and fatigue -Los Angeles Times
The coronavirus just killed a 29-year-old doctor who postponed his wedding to fight the disease -Business Insider
2. Delivery Guys
In places where stores are shut down and travel is restricted only to delivery guys. The responsibility to fill empty stomachs, supply groceries and essentials to homes is onto these guys.
It’s not gonna help them earn quadruple and they also know that viruses linger on surfaces for days. But, how would any of us get through our day with no food/supplies.
Also, for those of us who failed to procure food and groceries thanks to empty aisles as a result of panic-buying, delivery is the last and only option left. So, these guys are the real superheroes flying back and forth several times in a day, to help us all get through our days.
3. Inventory Staff
What’s scarier than the coronavirus itself? It’s the thought of dying hungry and seeing empty food shelves and empty aisles at supermarkets that many of us see every day thanks to people practicing panic-buying.
It started with toilet paper progressing to hand sanitizers and handwash. It now seems to have no end. Hundreds and thousands of people are filling up stores in batches every other hour, panic-buying everything they can get their hands on. At first, it was the fear of running out of supplies during the lockdown and now people are panic-buying with the fear of not finding anything and having to look at these empty shelves for the next few weeks.
If it wasn’t for prompt inventory staff stocking and restocking shelves/aisles round-the-clock, none of us would be able to procure food or soaps, even periodically.
4. Police and Law Enforcement Officers
Do people take lockdown measures and precautions seriously? Most do but then there are rule-breakers and offenders in every system.
Italy charges more than 40,000 people with violating lockdown -The Guardian
Person under coronavirus lockdown in Spain stopped by police after leaving home disguised as T-rex -Evening Standard
Especially in case of something as big as the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, the responsibility to contain the virus is far greater.
There are several cases across the globe where people who tested positive for Covid-19 are being discovered traveling or shopping despite strict orders to self-isolate at home. Imagine the horror if these guys are not stopped.
Not only do Police patrol cities under lockdown, but they also take up the responsibility of informing residents in remote areas about coronavirus. Police in China had to ride on horseback and travel through snowy conditions to inform the nomad community about covid-19, in the remote region of Altay Prefecture, located in the northwest Xinjiang region (Source: Business Insider).
5. Cleaning Crews and Refuse Collectors
The Best and the Greatest Superheroes are the housekeeping staff, office cleaning contractors, janitors, garbage truck drivers and refuse collectors. They are the silent superheroes of 2020’s biggest threat: Covid-19.
Everyone is going crazy over hand sanitizers but what about humans who are putting themselves out there, scrubbing surfaces clean with disinfectants, making every attempt at sanitizing all surfaces clean to prevent infections. They are the most vulnerable group to the virus. They risk their lives to keep our homes, offices, hotels, malls, streets etc clean and they do it knowing the fact that in case of an infection, they might not be able, to support themselves financially in case of heavy treatment costs.
Yet they turn up to work every day with a smile knowing deep in their hearts that they are doing this for humanity and for all of us to see a day where we have successfully defeated Coronavirus.
We must all appreciate the efforts of superheroes around us and celebrate every day knowing these guys are out there fighting and battling the pandemic every single day, to keep us all safe indoors.
