Ignorance isn’t bliss

covid cure scam

A week before the lockdown started, my mother suggested me to buy some homoeopathic medicine, claiming to cure COVID-19. I showed her an article that proved otherwise. Since then, for a whole month, it seemed like that was all I did - bust myths that circulated as WhatsApp forwards mostly among the elderly (and sometimes even educated people my age). Felt like I was fighting a completely different war - against fake news.

One thing that this terrible situation has triggered is the increased amount of fake news and scams, but also an increased number of people fighting the spread of misinformation, which in turn has led to a general apprehension for these mystic cures and too good to be true message forwards. Ignorance isn’t always bliss. That reminds me, do not inject yourself with bleach, and no, drinking alcohol won’t keep you safe from the virus either. Practicing social distancing and good personal hygiene will.

One such WhatsApp University forward claimed some citrus fruits have pH values of 15.6 and 22.7 that help kill the virus - which is acidic.

Highest pH value on the pH scale 14 and viruses don’t have a pH value.
— Zenitha Das


Lockdown 2020: Finally the Earth Breathes

dolphin near coast

One day at a time as we moved deeper into this global lockdown, with extension after extension, most people were cribbing about the adversities of shutdown. Despondent terms like economic crises and recession were circling around, however, I was jumping with joy as day after day I read one good news after the other - the water in the canals of Venice looked pristine, dolphins were sighted in the shores of Mumbai, turtles were relaxing by the beach in Odisha, animals were sighted roaming freely in the streets of various countries, the air pollution has decreased substantially even in hopeless places like Delhi, and the latest (and my personal favorite!) spectacular bioluminescent waves with glowing dolphins sighted in the coasts of California.

A few months back, there was a discussion on climate change and someone said something that has stuck with me ever since - “The earth doesn’t need saving, it is us human beings who need to be saved from the after-effects of our actions.” In just a matter of a few months, if the Earth could heal itself, imagine what it could do if this lockdown lasted longer!
— Anandita Pattnaik