It’s time for facts, not fear

@samkuttyvp -

It has been almost two years since the Covid-19 outbreak was first reported. Compared with the amount of knowledge that we had about the infection in the beginning to what we know today, it is a remarkable achievement that we get the updates on the pandemic on a regular basis.

At the same time, this constant barrage of new information and advice, which seem to be unending in view of the emergence of new variants, have become a challenge to keep up with. A news piece you read one day could be entirely out-of-date by the next morning.

While for a journalist, of course, the changing information makes the story difficult, for an ordinary reader who is trying to follow the story makes it even more confusing.

We all remember that coronavirus infection, when it was detected towards the end of 2019, was not predicted to have the potential to so enormously spread and affect people's lives across the world. The World Health Organization initially claimed that the situation was “under control”, but the outbreak gradually got out of control and turned into a pandemic affecting the whole global system.

Look at the new variant Omicron and the fear and panic followed after its emergence. It was fear everywhere as the panic button was pressed about its contagion on the first day itself. Fear led to confusion as experts and public health officials went on revising their opinions, advice and recommendations.

Unlike before the outbreak of the pandemic when we used to wake up to motivational lines and pleasant pictures in our phones in the morning, what we get now are messages of scary numbers and wild predictions about coronavirus.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared an ‘infodemic’ that was confusing people. Later in the same month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked people to push back against the infodemic challenges, “as fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is equally as dangerous”.

An appropriate level of alarm, without fanning the flames of hysteria is required. But “this is a time for facts, not fear. This is a time for rationality, not Rumours. This is a time for solidarity, not stigma”.

And coming to this age of social media, misinformation spreads faster than the virus itself. Many are even addicted to forwarding messages to gain cheap popularity, and too lazy to spend a few minutes to check the authenticity of what they are sharing.

Even as the whole world came under the grip of fear, social media continued to add more chaos with gossip and misinformation. Several people believed sinister rumours about what happens in hospitals for patients who have symptoms of Covid-19.

This has led people in some countries to regard hospitals as a source of infection and avoided treatment. Many were even fearful of being stigmatised by their communities if they tested positive for the disease!

Unfortunately, despite warnings from officials, these rumours continue to circulate. With the emergence of the Omicron, rumours have again started re-emerging on social media and in the community. Uncorroborated claims of imminent lockdowns, travel bans etc have started making the rounds.

I do not rule out the fact that some false information comes from legitimate sources as well, making it harder to separate fact from fiction!

SAMUEL KUTTY

(The writer is a senior journalist, author and columnist)