Coping with the Covid-19 Crisis
Published on : Thursday 26-03-2020
The industry is under the shadow of the CoronaVirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
While writing the editorial for the March 2020 edition, I had mentioned: “As this edition goes to the press, the crisis has spread across the world, albeit in small numbers. There are enormous implications of this crisis in terms of human lives as well as lost business.” That was on February 25th. The crisis has snowballed during this period and today there is fear in the air. As on the morning of March 21, the total death toll stands at 11,397, with a total of 275,427 persons affected globally. The silver lining to what is a massive dark cloud, is the 88,250 who have recovered. More positive is the fact that the virus appears to have tapered off where it began – Wuhan in China – where no new cases are reported.
While it is too early to get the exact estimate of economic loss from this crisis, it is also obvious that the world will weather it and come out stronger. Industry will bounce back and find new ways and means to augment the efforts, especially in early detection and identification of the symptoms and affected persons. Technologies exist – the thermal scanner is a good example – for this. The cost is a constraint in widespread adoption. But as we move towards the ‘Smart Everything’ era, investments will have to be made where airports and other public spaces of large congregation will have to be equipped with better scanning equipment.
On the technology front, there will be a massive boost in industry opting for more automated systems to keep production going even as current measures mandate that only 25% staff to keep the risk to a minimum. Experience has shown that every crisis has seen the world emerge stronger. A temporary setback results in more permanent solutions found.
The Indian Government has taken firm steps to deal with this unprecedented crisis and as responsible citizens it is our duty to follow the instructions issued by the authorities at the Centre, State and local administration levels. Mumbai city has shown how it can be done. Due to the preventive measures in place, India is fortunate indeed that so far there are just 250 cases with positive identifications and 4 unfortunate deaths. While that is small satisfaction, the fact remains that prevention is the best cure, as conventional wisdom has always maintained.
Stay at home, stay safe is the mantra for now. Tomorrow will certainly be better if we manage to stay safe today.
Dr M Arokiaswamy
Editor & Publisher
Industrial Automation
