WORLD IN LOCKDOWN

The word ‘coronavirus’ has become a name of the game children play with each other, where it represents all things evel, while the white-covered people—the good. “Die, coronavirus,” one of them shouts, imitating a disinfector. “That's it, I'm dead,” says another, pretending to be a bat. Parents warily monitor the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in real time from the Internet, doing homework with their children, and keeping home clean everyday.

The older generation, who is well over 65, is in a borderline state between fear and depression. They are the worst of all: the past, present, future, and between them is a digital abyss. Everything as in the very assumptions about gadgets in which they replace the real world. Online training, online delivery, online cinemas, online tours, online museums, online exhibitions of masterpieces of fine art, online travel. The number of types of online services seem to be endless. But if previously all this accompanied us in our daily lives, now the digital world has become a reality. For years, globalists have been trying to unite the world, and the coronavirus divided it in a matter of months, locking everyone not only to their homes and apartments, but also to their countries, plunging it into crisis.

#Standby

Coronavirus has become a terrible word known to everyone from young to old. Some believe in it, as in God, going out only when necessary, in complete ‘hygiene’ outfit. Others meticulously read through the lines of each news trying to find any trace of conspiracy theories on political elites, trying by all means to get out and breathe some fresh air. Social networks are full of jokes on coronavirus. But what is happening no longer causes laughter. Because statistics are victims and infected.

As of March 30, over 724 thousand infected with coronavirus were detected in 203 countries of the world, 34 thousand people died, 152 thousand recovered.

By the way, China, from where the disease spread throughout the world, has proudly reported that it has survived the pandemic, and has closed its borders to other countries.

In Azerbaijan, as of the indicated date, 273 facts of infection were registered. 26 people recovered, four died, 243 people continue treatment in special treatment hospitals, 4,085 people are placed in various quarantine zones. In connection with the identification of new infections, about 30 thousand tests were carried out.

#StayAtHome

Today in Azerbaijan, as elsewhere, we are witnessing measures that have become necessary. Everywhere there is control over the observance of the requirements of the special quarantine regime introduced to protect the health of citizens. In addition to police officers, military personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is involved in the process. Schools and other educational facilities, large shopping centers, grocery stores, gyms, hairdressers and other service facilities, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies, are closed. Customer service in catering  facilities, restaurants, cafes and tea rooms is suspended. Their owners are recommended to ensure home delivery, and online sales are given unlimited permission. In order to reduce the density of people, entry to all boulevards, parks and places of recreation is prohibited, people are limited to the streets. The Baku metro transports passengers from 07:00 to 09:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00, and large-scale disinfection works are being carried out on the streets of Baku and in other cities of Azerbaijan. On the radio, television channels, on the Internet, public transport, calls are everywhere for hygiene, wearing masks and gloves on the street. The measures introduced in the country, moreover, timely, are positively evaluated by the World Health Organization.

#Fight

As human beings, we are given reason, strength and will. And we resist. The amount of voluntary donations to the Fund to Fight Coronavirus in Azerbaijan is growing daily. The fund was created by President Ilham Aliyev, who immediately transfered ₼20 million from his Reserve Fund, as well as his entire annual salary. Following him, Mehriban Aliyeva, the first vice-president of the country, also donated her salary to the fund. Dozens of companies and ordinary citizens responded to the call of the president. Thus, as of March 30, over ₼90 million was transferred to the fund.

The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted the world not only with the medical crisis. The quarantine reality affected various sectors of the economy, leaving people around the world jobless. Therefore, by a separate decree of President Ilham Aliyev “On measures to stabilize the economy and increase resistance to external shocks”, the government will provide financial assistance to vulnerable groups of entrepreneurship, including tax relief and other benefits. Thus, ₼1 billion will be allocated from the state budget in 2020 for this purpose.

This is our struggle with the coronavirus pandemic - not ephemeral, but a real and sound approach. Protecting each other, we protect ourselves.

President Aliyev has repeatedly called for compliance with lockdown rules and extraordinary liability. He emphasized that it was a question of national security. And the First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva noted that a year ago the world believed that the era of pandemics, previously unknown dangerous diseases that claimed human lives, was in the past. That the modern level of development of bioscience, medicine, pharmaceuticals, technology, as well as the level of collective intelligence of mankind have insured us from certain surprises. However, the reality was different. “The world is facing a global challenge.” And in order for our country to get out of this situation with the least losses, Mehriban Khanum urged to strictly follow the rules of the quarantine regime. “The recommendations (of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers, R+) are situational in nature and change as the database expands. One thing is obvious - strict observance of precautionary measures, personal responsibility and organization are unconditional measures for the protection of oneself and others. I ask everyone to take care of their elders,” Aliyeva said.

As part of measures to improve the infrastructure of medical institutions, as well as to set up medical institutions of special regime, the Aliyevs attended the opening of a large medical institution Yeni Klinika in Baku, where the patients with severe symptoms of coronavirus will be treated. For now, the institution has a capacity of 575 beds.

#IncreasedAttention

We do not want to live in such a world. Therefore, we must adhere to the rules to end the current situation as soon as possible. This is unbelievable, but true: in order to preserve loved ones, we should contact with them less. Especially when it comes to the elderly people and those with weak immune system. The new coronavirus threatens them in the first place. We must show empathy to many of them who are now in a suppressed emotional state. And even a small cold causes fear in them.

According to psychologist Afag Babayeva, we must regularly communicate with our seniors by video link. Encourage, talk about the need for action taken, try to joke and talk about something good. “The adult generation must feel this fulcrum, and in the circumstances, it will be easier for them to survive self-isolation.” And if possible, you need to teach them how to use various online learning resources: reading books, needlework, cooking, etc.

Social services such as ASAN Хidmət, DOST and others immediately joined the support campaign for the elderly and single. All services have hotlines.

#WeAreOneWorld

Our nation is used to difficulties. We survived the collapse of the USSR, perestroika, total shortage of products, the roaring 90s, the Karabakh war with Armenia. The older generation lived through WWII. It is a little reassuring that, unlike the countries of Europe and the USA with unfortunate and powerful ramping up rates of the pandemic, the situation in Azerbaijan is much better, and there is less exposure to panic. We do not have empty shelves in supermarkets, pharmacies, there is no shortage of food, etc. There is a shortage of alcohol and protective masks, as the demand for these products has grown both in the whole world and in Azerbaijan. If 500-600 thousand masks were sold in Azerbaijan during a month, now this amount is enough for three days only. In 2018-2019, about 5-6 million masks were sold annually, while this year this figure reached 3.5 million only in March. In order to effectively use the supply of masks Azerbaijan, they are primarily provided to doctors and patients, police officers, the staff of the Military of Defense, Border Guard Service and Customs. Every day about 150-200 thousand masks are distributed and sold throughout the country, 500 thousand are imported and another 1.5 million will be delivered. Due to the increased demand, it is decided to start production of masks in April with the raw materials exempted from customs duties. At the initial stage, it is planned to produce 90,000 masks per day, and in the future - to increase this volume to 200,000 per day. This should be enough for the population of Azerbaijan. To meet the needs for medical alcohol, six new manufacturers are already involved. Today, Azerbaijan produces 1.5 million liters of 96% medical alcohol, which is more than enough to satisfy the total demand.

#SingleWorld

Our world is a single organism. COVID-19 shows how interconnected everything in it is. China, the survivor of the epidemic, provides assistance to other countries in combating the spread of the pandemic. China made a similar proposal to Azerbaijan. State Advicer, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent a telegram to his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov. He expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for supporting China in the days when China was combating the epidemic. Now China is ready to support Azerbaijan, to establish close ties with the country to curb the pandemic and exchange experiences on disease control, as well as medical treatment. “We believe that the Azerbaijani side will quickly eliminate the threat, and relations between China and Azerbaijan will receive a new and even greater impetus for development,” the telegram says.

The US also provided assistance to Azerbaijan to combat coronavirus despite the growing number of the infected and the massive spread of coronavirus in the US. Department of State and USAID allocated $1.7 million to Baku. These funds should be used to develop laboratory systems, increase activities in detecting new facts of infection and conduct monitoring works, as well as to increase the support of technical specialists and the effectiveness of communications in risky conditions. Over the past 20 years, the US has allocated $41 million to the health sector of Azerbaijan.

Russia also made its contribution by transferring 70 sets of test systems for laboratory diagnosis of coronavirus to Azerbaijan. The Russian Federation seeks to provide the greatest possible assistance to partner countries in the diagnosis of the disease. Thus, the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being sent test systems, which make it possible to conduct more than 100,000 studies on COVID-19, to 13 states, including the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, CIS, Iran, Mongolia and China.

To combat the coronavirus, Azerbaijani authorities donated $5 million to Iran. Iran also received assistance from China, Turkey, UAE, Germany, UK, Qatar and Russia.

#Vaccine

Many countries with advanced health sector are conducting researches to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. But this will not happen so quickly. The basis of the modern medical system in all the leading countries is evidence-based medicine. This means that a certain drug or course of treatment has passed all the necessary laboratory tests, clinical tests and has proved its effectiveness for many years. Launching new drugs on the market is a very long and complicated process. Long-term scientific research, animal testing, and only then - permission to test the new drug on humans. To do this, you need several groups of volunteers, and then time to evaluate the effectiveness and harmful effects of the drug on the human body.

The same is true for the vaccine against COVID-19. Currently, more than fifty pharmaceutical and research companies are engaged in the development. Almost 20 companies are working on the development of drugs. Recently in the US, the first vaccine was tested on humans, but there is no reason to hope for a quick result. A year and a half and about $2 billion for just one company are required to create a vaccine. Even if the launch process is accelerated as much as possible, it will still continue for at least a year. And then only if the tests are successful. A separate question is whether pharmaceutical companies will be able to produce enough vaccines for the whole world. All calculations show that the coronavirus pandemic cannot be stopped. We only need to wait. But there is one interesting fact. In Australia, large-scale tests began on 4,000 people of BCG vaccine, which we all get in infancy—mandatory vaccination since the USSR. Perhaps it’s the world's greatest hope to stop the coronavirus. If the tests confirm the effectiveness of BCG, writes the New York Times, and perhaps this will explain the low incidence rates in post-Soviet countries. BCG is the only tuberculosis vaccine available. It is relatively safe, inexpensive, and requires only one injection. Despite its drawbacks, BCG vaccination in most endemic countries is seen as a lifesaving and important element of standard tuberculosis control measures.

#Summer

For now we have to wait. And stay at home, paying maximum attention to our loved ones, supporting the elderly, observing hygiene and taking care of ourselves. We will wait hoping for the best, hoping for summer vacations. Mankind has experienced many more serious disasters, wars, pain and destruction. The world will survive this time too!