New Delhi, 4^rd Sept’ 2020: The lengthening curve of COVID-19 across the country doesn’t seem to flatten. While Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of the country, has registered over 2, 41,000 COVID-19 cases, 1, 81,000 recovery and over 3600 deaths so far. But how the government of the state has been tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and what are the current and upcoming strategies in this context, are something worthy to know. All these aspects were brought out during Episode-6 of the HEAL-Thy Samvaad, organised by the ‘Healthcare Advocacy Group’— HEAL Foundation in association with ICCIDD on 3^rd Sept’ 2020.

To tackle the situation with due deliberation, and to assess the spread of the pandemic and to be able to control it, the Health Department of UP govt. is all set to conduct sero-surveillance in the 11 most COVID-19 affected districts of the state from today onwards. Sero surveillance is a globally used and trusted standard which measures the levels of antibodies against a certain infection and decodes the percentage of the population which has been previously exposed to the virus. It also helps understand better that what proportion of the population has COVID-19 antibodies and to identify hotspots and high-risk groups.

When asked about the role of Team-11 constituted by the CM to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, while addressing the HEAL-Thy Samvaad, Episode-6, Shri Jai Pratap Singh, Minister of Medical & Health, Family welfare, Mother & Child Welfare, UP, said, “Team-11 is made up of 11 different committees with respective roles and responsibilities to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Team consists of different departments such as Health, Gram Panchayat, Nagar Panchayat, Revenue, Agriculture, Industry, MSME, Animal Husbandry etc. The govt. high officials like the Chief Secretary and the DGP of the state are also the part of the Team. The team is supposed to work on all the fronts to tackle the upsurge of COVID-19 ranging from testing, care, and relief-providing activities to the submission of the report on a daily basis, which the CM reviews and monitors himself. The Team-11 has been doing a wonderful job.”

Talking about the current status of the pandemic and the state govt.’s strategy, the Health Minister said, “We have redefined the testing ecosystem as the no of tests being conducted per day is 1, 50,000. Likewise, to scan the minutest details of the upsurge and to curb the increasing curve, we are going to start Sero-surveillance in 11 most COVID-19 affected districts of the state.”

Emphasising the need to build strong healthcare infrastructure in the country, the Health Minister added, “The greatest learning from COVID-19 is to have a well-designed healthcare infrastructure in place. Besides opening new hospitals, we need to revamp our existing facilities by deploying qualified doctors, installing modern machines for treatment at par with that of the private ones. Now, the ratio of public & private facilities in treating the patients is 30% & 70% respectively. We have got good support from central govt. in COVID times, and we are going to establish labs in every district. Ayushman Bharat card is also helping people in their treatment.”

Speaking at HEAL-Thy Samvaad, Episode-6, Dr Swadeep Srivastava, Founder, HEAL Foundation said, “The overall monitoring under Team-11 is going good in UP as they have been successful in dealing with 32 lakh migrant workers who have come back in UP in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The Teams have used all the means properly referring to customised treatments — such as to someone with mild symptoms — they have sent to Home Isolation care rather than hospitals. They have been dealing with the situation pragmatically.”

Moderating the HEAL-Thy Samvaad, Episode-6, Mr Shankar Raj, President, HEAL Foundation said, “The most populous state of the country UP has the fatality rate of 1.58%, which is lower than that of the national fatality rate 1.87% during COVID-19 despite large number of migrants coming back to the state. It is perhaps due to the meticulous system put in place by the state govt. to tackle the pandemic prudently.”

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New Delhi: The infectious rage of COVID-19 doesn’t seem to cease. So, the feasible solution turns out to prevent and coexist with this. Of several preventive public health measures being practised ever since its outbreak, wearing the mask is supposed to be the most effective, feasible and affordable measure, which needs public attention and adaptation.

Considering the essence of wearing a mask, and making this message wide-spread to bring behaviour change, HEAL Foundation — a healthcare advocacy group in association with ICCIDD organised the largest 2^nd India Healthcare e-SUMMIT on 6^th August 2020 with a special session on the Science of Mask — linking ancient wisdom with modern science. The session covered wide-range of topics on mask wherein eminent Educationist & Padma Awardee, Dr Pushpesh Pant elaborated on the history of mask and its connections with India’s cultural heritage.

Also, ‘Independence from Coronavirus Movement’ via “MASK is MUST” campaign was launched by the HEAL Foundation. This campaign has started at the right time, which may be instrumental in breaking the infection chain and bringing behaviour change amongst the masses.Introducing a nationwide campaign ‘Mask is Must’ as a single point intervention to prevent the surge of COVID-19 and its undeterred rage in India, Dr Swadeep Srivastava, Founder, HEAL Foundation appealed the people to follow ‘Mask-Wearing’ religiously as it has certain benefits.

Elaborating on the essence of wearing a mask and the scientific reasons behind it, Prof K Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) & Padma Awardee, said, “It is imperative to wear a mask as the COVID-19 virus enters the body through two main gateways — nose and mouth. And mask covers both. By wearing a mask one can prevent infection. If we speak loudly we discharge more virus in the air, but when we sneeze or cough, we discharge over 2 hundred million viruses, which increase the chances of more people getting infected.”

“Also, wearing mask protects you from getting infected from others and the vice-versa. These are the scientific reasons behind wearing a mask. Alone hand washing and mask-wearing reduces 60% chances of infection. Mask wearing campaign is a very much required initiative in this crucial time as such campaigns are supposed to bring behaviour change amongst masses”, added Prof Reddy.

Linking ancient wisdom to modern science and the essence of the mask, Dr Chandrakant S Pandav, President, ICCIDD & Leading Global Health Expert, said, “Mask is quintessential to stay safe from any infection and especially from COVID-19 as this is the part of our culture. And our honorary PM has set a new paradigm of being the public health practitioner. Mask in some form or the other and hand washing has been the part of our ancient culture. ‘Mask is Must’ to fight the COVID-19 infection.”

“However, to stay integrated and healthy, we have to follow 3M’s — ‘Mantra Jaap’, ‘Meditation’ and ‘Music’. And I am thankful to our honourable PM for recognising the ancient wisdom of Yoga and declaring 21^st June as ‘World Yoga Day’. Mask plays a vital role in protecting you from infection. We should pledge to ‘Ask for Mask’ to bring behaviour change in our society, which is very important to fight this pandemic”, added Dr Pandav.

On attuning with ‘Making of the Mask — Tender, Loving, Care’ Prof Sheetal Vij, Premium Faculty Member, World Peace University, Pune, said, “Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial as well as practical purposes. In the pre-pandemic, the mask for me was just a normal thing to protect your face, but now, it has become essential. In ancient time it was used for ceremonial purposes, however, in 2020, it has turned out as a healer.”

At the end of the last session of 2^nd India Healthcare e-SUMMIT, recognising the contribution of ‘Real-Life’ Heroes who worked relentlessly to serve the community in need during COVID-19 crisis, HEAL Foundation in association with ICCIDD conferred COVID Hero Award 2020 to eight individuals from different sections of society for their exemplary deeds.The session was moderated by Mr Rajeev Mehrotra, Trustee & Secretary, Foundation for Universal Responsibility of HH The Dalai Lama.

Alo read: COVID TO STAY IN INDIA : LIFE TO CONTINUE IN NEW NORMAL

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New Delhi : The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world to its very core. Certain norms have been found instrumental in protecting oneself from the virus- physical distancing, staying at home, sanitising from time-to-time, using an N95 mask when heading out, and so on. At the same time, countries all over the globe are trying to find a vaccine or a solution which can help us return to a normal, pre-COVID world. While research and testing are in full swing, scientists all over are also open to experimenting with other tactics that might help the public become immune to the virus.

We will be able to achieve herd immunity:

In the midst of this discussion and deliberation, the concept of ‘herd immunity’ arose. A form of indirect protection from infectious diseases like COVID-19, the phenomenon of ‘herd immunity’ ensures that a large percentage of the population becomes immune to the infection, either through vaccination or previous infections.

Now that schools and colleges have diverted to virtual learning, the idea of in-person classes seems rather distant. However, in-spite of us finding an alternate for the time-being, online classes in the long term are not feasible for all. Online classes are especially a problem for those middle-class families with multiple children in school, or those belonging to economically-weaker sections of society. While online classes have their own advantages and disadvantages, scientists and researchers have located a new plus-point to the reopening of schools and colleges eventually, once the cases get out of control.

Elaborating on this, Dr. Amitav Banerjee, Professor & Head Community Medicine, Dr DY Patil Medical College, Pune says, “If we choose to open schools and colleges once the curve stabilises, there are very strong chances that we will be able to achieve herd immunity. Children & young adults have a fresh immunity, which makes them better prepared to fight infections. It has a multiplier effect- if we develop it, we can protect many people. If we study USA data, 24 districts in USA do not have a single child fatality”. “The mean age & BMI has been an important factor in number of deaths. Recent CDC update mentions that obesity is major risk factor for fatality from Covid-19 virus. Japan never had a lockdown & despite having higher mean age there were very few fatalities, which reconfirm CDC findings”, Dr Banerjee added.

How exactly herd immunity is achieved?

The idea behind achieving herd mentality, however simple it may sound, is actually quite complex in terms of achievement. Explaining how exactly herd immunity is achieved, Dr. Sanjay K. Rai, Professor, Centre of Community Medicine, AIIMS New Delhi elaborated, “there are two basic ways of achieving herd immunity- by developing a vaccine, and by exposure to infection. Since there is no possible way of knowing by when we can find a vaccine and how effective it will be, the only other alternative is through infection.”

The opening of schools and colleges, at present, seems like a bizarre idea which will only put the future of the country at risk. However, in this dark situation, Dr. Rai finds a silver lining, “If schools and colleges go back to functioning in full swing, keeping in mind distancing and sanitisation norms, there is a possibility that sooner or later, everyone will get exposed. Children have fresh immunity, and they can be major contributors to us achieving herd immunity. The process is quite complex, though- careful interpretation and increase in testing are vital for it to be successful.”

Lockdown may not be the ultimate solution:

Dr Chandrakant S Pandav, Former HoD, Center of Community Medicine, said, “Lockdown may not be the ultimate solution to fight COVID 19. It may delay the infection but cannot protect us forever. There are multiple diseases, vaccine for which remained elusive & if that happens with COVID 19, herd immunity is our only solution to end the pandemic.”

Dr Swadeep Srivastava, Founder, Heal Foundation said, “The experts have presented a new perspective about immunity at large. The limited activity & exposure of sunlight have a negative effect on the immunity of a person. Schools have moved to online classes and most corporates have accepted the work from home culture, the changed, which were supposed to safe people from COVID, may be making them vulnerable to infections due to decreasing immunity. With no certainty around vaccine, herd immunity seems to be only option & opening schools & colleges can be rational call.”

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New Delhi ,17^th July 2020: The recent spike of COVID-19 cases in Bihar has sharpened a debate that — How Bihar is tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. And how the next assembly election in the state will be conducted amid the grim situation. These are the burning issues of the state, which were addressed recently during the 1^st session of HEAL-Thy Samvaad Episode-3.

When asked about the upcoming assembly election in the state amid the lengthening curve of COVID-19, while addressing the HEAL-Thy Samvaad Episode-3, Dr Ashok Choudhary, Minister of Building Construction Department, Bihar, said,“We never expected such an unfortunate situation but it is upon us now, and due to the increasing rate of COVID-19 incidence, again, two weeks of lockdown from 16-31^st July has been announced to curb its upsurge. As far as the assembly election in the state is concerned, it’s a constitutional obligation, and the Election Commission has the discretion to take the final call.”

He further said, “We are planning to conduct virtual campaign (meetings, rallies) to avoid physical contact during the election campaign. This way we will maintain social distancing as it helps check the upsurge of the lengthening curve, because for us, people’s lives and their health are of prime importance.” “Regarding the time and safe mode of voting, whatever rules and regulations in the pretext of COVID-19 scenario are elicited by the election commission, being a responsible political party, we will follow each and every protocol”, he added.

Answering a query raised by Senior Journalist and Former Director-General of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC)Prof. KG Suresh about the preparedness for election and holding in such a time when the pandemic is on the gradual rise during the Samvaad, Dr Chowdhary said, “Bihar is not the only place where an election will take place during the COVID-19 crisis. Recently, elections have held in South Korea and Singapore. Also, the US is planning to have its presidential elections in November. So, whatever decision election commission takes regarding the conduct of the election, we will follow that.”

For the last four days in Bihar, fresh COVID-19 cases have been breaching the 1,000-mark, with infection rate rising consistently, and the total recorded cases in the state have crossed the 20,000-mark. Given the situation, when asked what steps Bihar Govt. is taking to tackle the situation, he said. “The state govt. has increased the workforce in the hospitals, besides increasing the number of isolation centres. Currently, 10,000 tests are being done daily, and there is a plan to increase it to 15,000 per day soon. The Primary Health Centres (PHCs) are also equipped. Govt. officials are visiting personally to inculcate awareness in the villages around COVID. And two free masks are being distributed in each family.”

Responding to a query of Dr Swadeep Srivastava, Founder HEAL Foundation during the Samvaad, on the permission of allowing private hospitals for testing and treatment considering the limited govt. hospitals and COVID centres, Dr Chowdhary said, “The govt. has identified some private hospitals and allowed some for testing also, but there is a guideline of ICMR that at least 50 beds in each hospital are required, which we have to adhere to.” HEAL-Thy Samvaad — a fortnightly series of dialogues on the stemming health issues in our society organised its 3^rd episode on 16^th July 2020 by the ‘healthcare advocacy’ group— HEAL Foundation in association with ICCIDD and with the support of the Consortium of Public Health Impact Partners (CPHIP).

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New Delhi July 14, 2020: The role of public health communication in times of COVID-19 pandemic is crucial. An empathising, accurate and well-developed health communication can facilitate people to handle uncertainty and fear during the crisis. The changing dynamics of communication during COVID-19 and the role of Traditional, New Age & Social Media to bring out effective communication are also very important. These were some of the key points discussed during the webinar organised by the HEAL Foundation — a healthcare advocacy group in association with Public Relations Society of India (Delhi Chapter).

Addressing the webinar and throwing light on the necessity & sensitivity of marketing communication during the pandemic, Dheeman Vaidya, Director, APAC Communications, Medtronic& a Leading MarCom Expert, said, “We should keep the people in the centre while communicating and give priority to emotions rather than information. ‘Emotion First, Information Second’ should be the line of our communication. We can communicate them better by empathising and winning their trust. We need to avoid information overload as it misleads the audience. Everything is going through the process of change. Medical Education goes through a major change in 100 years! Digital platforms have received a major boost – what was being tried over the past 25 years, has happened in the past 6 months only!”

Talking on the challenges faced by CSR professionals and the beneficiaries and the communication deluge, Priti Srivastava, Sustainable Growth Mentor, Navratan Foundation said, “Balancing the budget between routine CSR and COVID-19 CSR has been one of the challenges for the corporates during the onset of COVID. Now every CSR activity is seen in the light of COVID-19. But the non-COVID CSR activities shouldn’t be the casualty. Also, we need to use personal communication, through which we can educate at least 10 persons in our closed group and vicinity such as maid, driver, and security guards— this is an easy and effective way. The NGOs, Doctors, and people from RWAs should also come forward and communicate in local languages to make the messages wide-spread.”

Deliberating on the role of the medical community in creating balanced communication, Dr. Sudhakar Gayakwad, Vice President, FCB Health India, said, “Before any communication, seeking consent is essential because it paves the way for better communication. While communicating, we should avoid opportunism to make the flow natural and convincing. In the COVID-19 scenario, communication through videos has worked wonders — short videos communicate lengthy messages easily and effectively. Likewise, identifying the relevance of communication is also essential because irrelevant communication leaves no impact on the audience. And, showing solidarity in communication engages the communicator and the audience, bringing desire impact.”

“He also summarised Communication beautifully in the acronym — COVID as follows.

C: CONSENT TO BE TAKEN

O: OPPORTUNISM AVOIDED

V: VIDEO FIRST

I:   IDENTIFY RELEVANCE

D: DISPLAY SOLIDARITY”

Speaking on the importance of communication in times of COVID-19 — its challenges and solutions, Dr. Swadeep Srivastava, Founder, HEAL Foundation said, “Simplifying the communication with relevant, accurate, and necessary information through the easiest possible medium should be the hallmark. This will not only cut-down on misinformation and information-overload but also help people understand the message and adopt it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital communication has been more effective in bringing behaviour change such as short videos and crisp social media posts with relevant visuals.”

Emphasising on the importance of public relations, Dr Jaya Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Public Relations Society of India – Delhi Chapter said, “The role of public relations in the times of a pandemic is crucial. No one thought that we would be facing such times. Now, public relation professionals have a responsibility to spread the right knowledge during the pandemic. These are the times when marketing gimmicks & brand promotion take the back seat and empathic public awareness communication becomes the centre of the communication. Many brands have already designed their communication on these lines & I would congratulate them for their revised communication strategy.”

Speaking on the challenges of media houses in news reporting, Prof. KG Suresh, Dean, School of Modern Media, UPES University, Dehradun, Former, DG Indian Institute of Mass Communication, said, “With the COVID-19 pandemic, one new epidemic has started in the form of info-epidemic. The media houses, especially the TV News channels are sensationalising the information, which ultimately misleads the viewers. There are so many factors behind it such as lack of proper knowledge of healthcare amongst the journalists. Media need to provide relevant information useful for the masses.”

Speaking on the necessity and sensitivity of marketing communication during the pandemic,  Atul Sharma, MD, Health Scape, said, “There is an overflow of information and this is challenging to differentiate credible and non-credible information. In the testing times, it’s the responsibility of everybody whether it is a marketing professional or a common man to talk to the solution rather than the problem.”

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Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in India, recently a decline in the number of cases in Mumbai followed by Delhi with a fall in mortality rate has been observed. However, the chain of spread is not broken, which seems to bring severity in other cities too as COVID is all set to stay in India.

But how to live with the COVID conundrum as some people are getting sick and others are not; understanding the relationship between comorbidities and COVID 19; some countries are more affected than others – the reasons behind it; were some of the pressing issues addressed during the HEAL-Thy Samvaad organised on 2^nd July 2020.

While deliberating on how to live with COVID-19, Dr KK Aggarwal, Padma Shri & renowned interventional cardiologist said,“COVID-19 is not going away soon as India is a densely populated country. Although, there is a decline in the number of cases of Mumbai & Delhi, yet other cities may be on spurt as we can’t siege it. It may stay for 2 years or more, but we needn’t fear. So, we need to understand and learn how to live with it. For this, we need to be cautious, wear mask compulsorily, and maintain social distancing; avoid gathering in close spaces as the exposure will be less in open space.”

Doctors are at higher risk:

On the frontlines of this COVID-19 pandemic are healthcare workers with the substantial task of diagnosing and treating an exponentially growing number of acutely ill patients, often having to make critical decisions under physical and psychological pressure. Hence, they (doctors) are at high risk holding the highest mortality rate due to their repeated exposure to the virus.

Adding to this Dr KK Aggarwal said, “Obviously, doctors are at higher risk because of their repeated exposure to the virus, while the absence of isolation rooms in India is also one of the causes. To ease the burden upon the hospitals and to save the doctors, home quarantine is the solution. As more than 80% of COVID-19 cases have mild symptoms, so it can be managed at home with the help of telemedicine — this way, we will save the doctors. We can also try this at the community level rather than visiting the hospitals. We can fix a house for COVID-19, and put all positive patients of the community there with masking. Hence, home isolation seems to be the solution. More so, telemedicine and home isolation are the gifts of COVID-19 to the medical fraternity.”

Deliberating on why some people are getting sick and some are not, Dr JC Suri, Chairman, JCS Institute of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine says, “Of the people getting infected with COVID-19 and falling sick, 80% are with mild symptoms, 15% with severity to be admitted to the hospitals and 5% with extreme conditions to be admitted in ICUs. When the virus enters our body, it is dealt with body resistance. This resistance is of two types — the innate immunity and the acquired immunity. If one’s innate immunity is strong, one can fight back the virus, if not, it will move towards severity. There are so many factors that impact innate immunity — sleep is one of them, a sound sleep of 7-8hour works as a natural immune booster. If young are falling sick, there is a genetic factor. There are demographic factors also as we have seen the high mortality rate in Spain, Germany and the USA.”

 HEAL-Thy Samvaad — a fortnightly series of dialogues on the stemming health issues in our society organised its 2^nd episode on 2^nd July 2020 by the ‘healthcare advocacy’ group — HEAL Foundation in association with ICCIDD and with the support of the Consortium of Public Health Impact Partners (CPHIP).  For details visit: www.healfoundation.in

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New Delhi, 30^th April: HEAL Foundation — a not-for-profit organisation, which has been working tirelessly under its flagship initiative COVID Fighters — dedicated to fight COVID-19 pandemic with its various awareness drive and other allied activities, has already conducted a series of webinars around the pandemic, is holding an inclusive and grand 1st COVID-19 LIVE eHEALTH SUMMIT on 2^nd May 2020 from 11:00 AM to 07:00 PM.

The 1st COVID-19 LIVE eHEALTH SUMMIT will split into six sessions with 3 keynote speakers — Mr. Jai Pratap Singh, Minister of Medical & Health, Family Welfare, Mother & Child Welfare, Govt. of  Uttar Pradesh,renowned Spiritual Guru, Juna Pethadhiswar, Acharya Mahamandleswar Swami Awadheshanand Giri Ji Mahraj and Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, and 35 other key speakers from across the spectrum including Ms. Minissha Lamba (Bollywood actress) , Dr. Pravin Chandra, Dr. Prof. Anoop Misra, Dr Nimesh Desai, Dr. GS Grewal and Dr. JC Suri.

The summit will cover the entire gamut of COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis it has brought along and its repercussions afterwards wherein the accomplished speakers will deliberate around the pandemic, the lockdown and its various after-effects over mental, physical and economic health of the country with their respective experiences and findings through various session. They will also answer the queries of the participants during the sessions.

“Taking the stock of the unprecedented world-wide COVID-19 pandemic and the havoc created in the wake of its outbreak has moved us to such an extent that we started a dedicated COVID SAFETY MOVEMENT under the flagship programme — COVID Fighters (www.covidfighters.in) from the aegis of HEAL Foundation ever since its outbreak. We have been working relentlessly since then to fight this pandemic by inculcating awareness in the masses about this virus and educating them with our multiple channels i.e., a series of webinars, social media campaigns, e-newsletters and through various other allied activities. The overwhelming impact of this movement has encouraged us to conduct the  eHEALTH SUMMIT at the time when lockdown in India is going to complete 40 days”,said Dr. Swadeep Srivastava, Founder, HEAL Foundation.

Adding further Dr Srivastava said, “The unprecedented 40 days of lockdown has set in so many mental, psychological, familial, health and economic problems, putting the people in dilemma as to how to cope with the emerging new normal since lots of the old order have taken new dimensions, which need proper strategy and counselling to adjust with. Considering the need for stimulating and insightful interaction with the people, we have come up with this programme that will address almost all the new developments taken place during the crisis and the lockdown through its distinguished six sessions. Every session has its specific agenda ranging from health, women, economic and crisis management to healthcare workers plight and post COVID-19 scenario. The summit will see over 2500 participants in each session.”

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Ahead of curfew and lockdown to cut-down on COVID-19 pandemic’s spread, people have been found violating the norms of this effective deterrent. The violators’ judgement may be overpowered by the thought process like, such things happen in the cycle of nature over an interval and eventually vanish or I am young so nothing will happen to me, we Indians have very strong immunity and so on. A survey conducted on COVID-19 pandemic to know the optimism levels of the people around it has similar findings that quite resembles with the perception of the people in the current scenario, which is indicative of a cognitive bias called Unrealistic Optimism – when one is convinced nothing wrong will happen to them even in the face of facts.

As per the survey findings, 33.4% of people believe that it will subside soon whereas 21.5% believes these diseases keep coming and going. Additionally, 26.8% believe in destiny, what has to happen will happen and 17.4% thinks Indian have high immunity to fight such infection. With such a belief system and mindset, it is quite easy to cross the thin line between realistic and unrealistic optimism. This survey has been conducted under Healthy Nudge Initiative of HEAL Foundation – Indian Health Advocacy Group, in association with Counselling & Empowering -Enhancing Well-Being and Mental Health, to understand people’s perception of the impending danger of COVID-19. The survey has tried to find out people’s optimism level amidst COVID 19.

Suggestion for the above – Although the majority of participants had moderate to low optimism disposition levels, yet on being asked about the impact of COVID 19 on their optimism level the majority stated their optimism levels were not impacted by this outbreak as this was a hype created by the media and it will subside soon. “This survey brings out the thought processes, perceptions, levels of realistic optimism as well as unrealistic optimism of the people and their behavioural change around COVID-19 pandemic, thereby helping us in spreading the right information in the masses. If we see the grim scenario of the outbreak in the global backdrop and its exponential spread which took 67 days for the number of corona-affected persons to reach 1 lakh, and just 11 days in doubling the infected number, and merely 4 days in adding another one lakh, crossing the figure of 3 lakh virus infected. With so many reasons behind this, unrealistic optimism amongst the masses might be one of the leading reasons as a good number of responses of the people during the survey asserted that this outbreak is a normal thing, which will get over soon”, says Dr. Swadeep Srivastava, Founder, HEAL Foundation.

Adding further, he says, “The unrealistic optimism of the masses around the casual approach that this is a routine sort of thing might have resisted the people from social distancing, resulting in the havoc. But the result of the survey about unrealistic optimism also points toward the importance and the essence of social distancing, which has turned out to be the most effective preventive measure for COVID-19. Thus, the initiative is proactively doing its bit to keep the masses updated with the latest developments around the pandemic, and inculcating them to follow the preventive measures such as social distancing and healthy hygiene to cease its upsurge”.

The survey was conducted online with a gender-mixed sample size of 366 with a male & female ratio 46:54 from different parts of the country, majorly in Delhi/NCR. Globally recognised LOR-T form was used to asses people’s optimism disposition levels and then they were asked if there has been an impact on their optimism levels due to the COVID19 outbreak. Likewise, certain statistics of the survey also highlighted the unrealistic optimism of the people as 33.8% believed that such diseases come and go, so there is no need to worry as nothing is going to happen. In the same line, 17.6% believed that Indians have high immunity, so it’s a usual thing and not something that requires one to be extra careful or diligent.

“In the survey, which consisted of participants who were adults belonging to the elite and upper-middle-class socio-economic category, when asked whether their optimism levels were affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic, over 57% of the total sample surveyed expressed that their optimism was not affected by the outgoing pandemic while 82% of the sample showed low and moderate optimism disposition levels. The results were very interesting from a behavioural perspective, because even in the face of all the panic and downfall in the markets, people dying and suffering; the majority of the participants in the survey was optimistic and expressed that their optimism levels were not affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.”, says Vidhi Mahanot, Psychologist and Founder, Counseling And Empowering.

She adds further, “Unrealistic Optimism is when one makes a judgement of a risk which is very different from the objective standard of that particular risk. This cognitive bias often leads to misplaced hope and subsequent disappointment.What could be consequences of unrealistic optimism in the current situation of the COVID-19 outbreak? It could lead to being less prepared, taking lesser precautions, not wearing a mask if one has a cough, not getting oneself tested while experiencing symptoms similar to COVID-19 as one believes that they are in a low risk or no risk situation. Growing research indicates that people with tendencies to hold the positive expectation from the future, respond to obstacles and adversities in ways that are adaptive. Hence, while it’s great to be optimistic, however, let’s be aware of being unrealistically optimistic by cultivating and maintaining optimistic disposition and at the same time considering the risks of actions from a realistic angle.

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