But this should not result in panic. It is indeed a good thing that the government has declared it as a national calamity and the States and the Centre are working in tandem to check the virus. The number of cases has risen to over a hundred according to the health ministry data.

The virus has affected the everyday life with school closures, educational institutions shutting their doors, business closures, cinema halls shut, the mayhem in stock market, hospitals overflowing with patients and even the movie industry postponing new film releases and closing down the movie halls. It will certainly take a long time for the country to recover.

Even the gods are not spared according to a recent media report. Apparently 'fearing' that they too could be infected with the Coronavirus from the devotees, the priests at a famous temple in Uttar Pradesh have masked the deities and asked the devotees to wash their hands with sanitizers before touching them. Some like the Swaminayrayan temple have been shut indefinitely. For the first time, the centuries old Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam has cancelled major sevas.

Interestingly, the coronavirus has pushed back almost all other burning issues to the background. Politically, other important issues like economy, anti CAA protest etc. have been pushed to the backburner. Even in Parliament the debate on the anti-CAA protests was not as stormy as expected. The government got away with muted attacks though the former Congress President Rahul Gandhi continues his tirade against the Modi government on the sliding economy.

Coronavirus is taking a toll on economic activities around the world as the entire supply chain continues to be affected and major global events are either being cancelled or postponed. The impact on economy is going to be much worse though the government is yet to come up with its assessment.

Indian Economists are worried that Coronavirus outbreak can drag growth in the current January -March quarter and the next financial. The government has projected 5 per cent growth in the financial year 2019-20. For the next fiscal, it has pegged growth at 6-6.5 per cent. The manufacturing industry, real estate, education, tourism, entertainment, sports and almost every segment of economic activity has been affected with a spiralling effect.

On the education side, most schools, colleges and universities are shut. Those staying in the hostels have been told to pack up and go home. The multi-billion hospitality industry is the worst hit as people are discouraged to travel. The government‘s advice to restrict travel to the necessity has affected tourism and travel industries. The airline tickets and hotel bookings are going almost at half price. The $46 billion global cruise industry is also watching the coronavirus outbreak nervously. If the spread of the disease isn’t contained soon, it could even affect the advertising and marketing spends of brands.

The Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das has recently warned that the pharma and electronic manufacturing sectors might get impacted due to the virus and the GDP growth is likely to go down further. The RBI governor said that the coronavirus outbreak appears to be larger than SARS and this time China's share in world GDP and world trade is much higher. The Indian IT companies depend on Shanghai and Beijing. The big picture points to the fact that many existing projects might not be completed. India’s leading automakers —Mahindra, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp—admit that the coronavirus outbreak has hit production and supply of spare parts. The sector saw sales decline by 15 percent in the April-January period.

Fear of the unknown is powerful and the virus still remains unknown. There are uncertainties about the extent to which the epidemic might spread or intensify and also its mathematical pattern. A previous pandemic, SARS, took about six months to stop, largely through public health measures. Being the second most populous country in the world, India has cause to worry but there should be no panic. Coronavirus is an evolving disease and we have no other option than to wait. Overall, India’s response and surveillance has been quite robust and it should not become lax until the epidemic danger is over. The citizens too have a responsibility to adhere to the health restrictions. (IPA Service)