Now masks, social distancing should be our way of life: Padma awardee Dr Naresh

While interacting with ETV Bharat, Chairman & Managing Director, Medanta Dr Naresh Trehan said that wearing masks and following social distancing norms should now become a part of our lives. He further said that we need to be appreciative about our surroundings and nature to deal with this pandemic.

Hyderabad (Telangana): Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman & Managing Director, Medanta and Padma awardee said that our lives should be designed in accordance with masks and social distancing as this pandemic is not going to end anytime soon. He said that this pandemic has given us an opportunity to reset our lives and if the citizens of the country responds to the government, we can win this battle.

In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat Assistant News Editor (English) Verghese P Abraham, Trehan also said that everyone should be over-prepared to fight against the coronavirus as this is not going to end anytime soon. All the strict precautionary measures should be strictly followed even after the lockdown is lifted. Here are excerpts from the interview:

Q1. What are the steps that should be undertaken to ensure that coronavirus does not spread? Are we taking the right steps to prevent the spread of the infection?

A1:To understand this, we need to know what is this virus and how did it travel to various countries like Italy, France, Europe and Iran from Wuhan. The government took a very bold and correct step of enforcing lockdown and banning all the international flights to protect the spread of Covid. It was a good move as India has a very huge population and most of them live in clusters. We don't have enough resources like other countries.

Now that the lockdown has reached four weeks till May 3, we have broken the chain of transmission. As compared to other countries the cases have soared down in India with low death rates. Recovery rate is also 22% which means that the spread is not intensive like in New York. Most of the cases are mild and we have identified hotspots. The medical team got time to prepare for this which nobody in the world was prepared for Corona.

Now we have created isolation wards, ICU beds, PPE. The bigger challenge is the economic crisis. We have successfully managed many challenges and the economic cycle has to start at some point.

Q2. Do you classify corona as a mild or a very severe virus?

A2: Notorious! Coronavirus spreads much easier than other viruses. The viral load required to infect the person is very low. It incubates in the body and then the symptoms start. One may not know that you are carrying the virus and spreading it if symptoms appear late.

It is not resistant to heat or other vaccine and any other previous medical cures have not proven effective. Medicines like hydroxychloroquine, anti-viral drugs used for HIV and plasma theory have been used to cure Covid-19 patients. India is lucky because this virus arrived later than it arrived in other countries. We will be closer to a solution to this.

Q3. There is a thin line between stage 2 and community transmission. People having no travel history are also having the virus. How do you differentiate this?

A3: Given this invisible enemy, one must be over-prepared. We know that we are under-testing, so numbers will be much higher than what we know. We should presume it's higher and precautions should be taken accordingly.

Q4. Most of the initial information about the virus was falsified. Do you think we are creating enough awareness about this virus?

A4: The way the doctors, the government are behaving and telling people about the virus through newspapers and television is commendable.

Media has played a very important role in disseminating information like what is this virus, what do you need to protect. The public has to respond. If public behaves responsibly and if we can convince people through the information we are showing, India can defeat the virus. Washing your hands, social distancing and masks should be followed after lockdown uplifts.

Q5. A lot of doctors and nurses are getting infected. Are they over-exposed to the situation?

A5:In most of the cases, the source of the contact is not known. People can also get affected if they live in hotspots. Proper PPEs should be given to health workers and precautionary measures musty be taken in the treatment procedure. Everyone should wear a mask and when doctors are taking care of patients, gloves should be used.

Q6. What would you advice for cardiac patients?

A6: Any infection, bacteria or virus is a war between the organism and the body. In the case of Covid, the virus is so strong that it wins the battle against the body. An older person has a weaker immunity system. But comorbidities also includes age with cardiac disease, cancer, diabetes, any chronic disease which already damaged your immunity system. This is the concept of plasma therapy. Anti-bodies of a recovered person are given to patients which helps them to fight against the virus further.

We have therapies in Ayurveda. We are now doing a study on immunity modulators. Ayurveda and traditional medicines help to boost the immunity system. We are conducting three studies in Medanta of different combinations.

Q7. Are we going to be with this virus for long?

A7:Most definitely, we will face a lot of problems. N1H1 virus, swine flu is coming back every year. But our immunity system may develop to fight against the virus or we may develop a vaccine. L-shaped Covid virus is more dangerous than S-shaped. This came after rapid deaths were reported from Indore and Ahemadabad and the surge is being linked to Italy and Spain. We should be prepared for a prolonged battle with this pandemic. It may come back.

Q8. This coronavirus has taught us many things. Do we need to form a policy related to global travel and screening must be done at the airports?

A8: We don't have something reliable to test the persons. The only answer is masks and distancing. This should be a way of life. Offices and factories should be designed in this manner. These pandemics will continue to take a toll on humanity. We need to be a little more appreciative of our surroundings and nature. It's an opportunity to reset our life. We should temper ourselves a little bit to protect our environment.

Read:India can fight against Covid-19 with teamwork, says Dr. Uma Madhusudana