“By doing ordinary things with extraordinary discipline, you can defeat the virus,” said Balavenkat, a medical professional at a private hospital in the city, urging people to wear a mask, strictly adhere to social distancing norms and maintain hygiene.

“These are very basic, simple and easy rules. We are, by not adhering to these basic rules, giving the virus a huge opportunity to thrive in human race,” he said, before asking listeners to introspect life Before Corona (BC) and After Corona (AC).

“Our ability to travel from one end of the globe to another has become so easy, that what should have been an endemic disease has become a pandemic in no time, more so because adequate precautions were not taken. The challenge therefore is extra-ordinary, not impossible. We need to evolve strategies, be more disciplined,” he said.

“No doubt it is an economic crisis, but thanks to the pandemic – it has gone to prove that human life is more valuable,” Balavenkat said, adding “the prevalence of the Novel Coronavirus has moved from “mild” to “moderate” in Coimbatore. Be warned and take extra precaution. Don’t panic.”

In hindsight, industry stalwarts, who have all along indicated their support to the Government in the war against Covid-19, have from the time of Lockdown 1.0 maintained that while the economic loss was huge, business continuity would take precedence over growth for now. “We have to survive first to ensure continuity and growth,” an entrepreneur told BusinessLine .

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