The Virus - Chapter 7

How a Virus Changed the World …. for the Better….

Chapter 7            The Announcement

Dr. Jolly arrived in Geneva early in the morning. The scene at the airport was very different than only a month earlier when he was here for another meeting. There was hardly anyone at the airport and the arrival and departure information board showed lots of cancelled flights.

A car was waiting outside to take Dr. Jolly to World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters and the much-anticipated meeting.

At the lobby of the WHO breakfast was being served as guests kept arriving. Dr. Jolly was meeting some of his old friends that he hadn’t seen for a long time. This was to be a large meeting and a great opportunity to consult with some of the leading researchers, virologists, epidemiologists, specialists, and public health officials on how to control this virus.

It was abundantly clear that the meeting was about announcing the pandemic. All attendees had been informed of the agenda and the statistics that made it necessary to escalate the level of the warning and to emphasize the global nature of the outbreak.

After a few hours of consultations and going through reports, statistics and trends in various parts of the world which seemed more like formalities, it was obvious to everyone at the meeting that all the criteria for a pandemic were in place. A press release was to be prepared immediately.

After some changes in the wording of the press release, a final version was approved.

“We have been assessing the spread of the virus worldwide for the past few weeks and the number of infections and death toll have been rising rapidly. Currently there are more than 180,000 cases in over 128 countries and territories worldwide and in all continents. Over 8,000 people have lost their lives due to the virus and we face the risk of further global spread and a rise in the death toll. Therefore, the World Health Organization announces that the virus can be characterized as a pandemic. In the days to come we will be working with the public health systems in various countries to coordinate our efforts. This is a global crisis and requires the collaboration of everyone in the global community and all government agencies worldwide to mitigate the impact of the virus.”

A news conference was held that evening where Director-General of the World Health Organization and several specialists including Dr. Jolly met with the media and answered questions regarding the virus and the pandemic.   

The news of the pandemic was received with some skepticism in some parts of the world while in other countries immediate action was initiated to fight the virus. However, for most people the speed by which the virus was spreading was just too much to process. Nothing like this with such global impact had ever been experienced. There were lots of conspiracy theories being thrown around. This was the perfect storm for misinformation, political posturing and lies.

Late at night, Dr. Jolly went back to his hotel. He checked his emails and the news. There were lots of messages. Many of his contacts were reacting to the announcement. The news of the virus entering the pandemic stage was all over the mass media in various countries. However, one headline got Dr. Jolly’s attention. India had announced some international travel restrictions effective immediately. This could possibly make it difficult for his daughter who was planning to leave the country in a few days. He called her immediately. but there was no response. He checked the time. It was 1:00 AM in India where she was. Dr. Jolly was anxious to get in touch with his daughter. But he realized that he had to wait till the next morning.

He then sent a message to say hi to Dr. Gutierrez in New York.

“Can I call you now?” Dr. Gutierrez sent a text message back.

“Sure. I am at the hotel.” Dr. Jolly responded.

The cellphone rang. “Hi Tony, I saw you at the news conference. It’s been crazy here. We seem to be in state of flux. Things are changing by the hour. There is a lot of panic in New York.” Dr. Gutierrez shared.

“The global situation is very unpredictable. The WHO is swamped with news from around the world. at one hospital the infected people ran out when a social media platform reported that the virus was a global conspiracy. We are hearing about all kinds of panic situations. But of course, it’s not all that bad. We do have good news from various governments that are trying to initiate coordinated efforts and they are communicating with the WHO as they make plans.” Dr. Jolly explained.

“How is your daughter in India? Is she OK?” Dr. Gutierrez asked.

“I am a little worried. India is talking about international travel restrictions to be implemented shortly. She is supposed to be on a flight out of the country in 4 days. So, I hope there is no problem. How is your son?”

“Well, he is supposed to come down from Boston for the Thanksgiving weekend.” Dr. Gutierrez explained.

“Sounds good. Maria, I know you’re busy at work, but it might be a good idea to work from home if possible.”

“We have been talking about that here at Pfizer. We are all already wearing masks and trying to be careful by reducing direct contacts. But working from home is definitely a good idea.” Dr. Gutierrez responded.

“That’s great. Please take care. I will call you tomorrow. I have a ton of emails and messages to respond to.”

“Sure. Good night, Tony.”

“Good night.”

Dr. Jolly crashed on the bed in his suit and tie. It’s been a very busy day. He was exhausted but there was much more to be done. He was wondering where this virus was taking everyone. This seemed like a script from a Hollywood movie with crisis, chaos, struggle, violence, death, conspiracy theories, panic, misinformation, …. Just about anything you can imagine was at play.

Dr. Jolly took a shower, drank lots of water and was getting ready for bed, when he got a text message.

It was his friend, Dr. Kaviani at the CDC in Atlanta. “Can I call you?”

“Sure…” Dr. Jolly responded.

Immediately the call came in. “Dr. Jolly, I know it’s late. So, I’ll make it really short. I saw the news about the pandemic. This is amazing how it’s unfolding at such speed.”

Dr. Jolly listened carefully and responded with his eyes closed.

“This has been the fastest spreading pandemic in history. The virus is also constantly changing and morphing into new variants. We have already had hundreds of new variants in different parts of the world.”

“We are also getting reports from various sources about the new variants. This would make very difficult for the vaccine research. We are seeing big numbers of infections in many cities including New York.” Dr. Kaviani shared.

“I heard. I’m heading back to New York in a couple of days. By the way, how is your family? I always remember the dinner I had at your house. I have been in regular contact with Maria since that night.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. My family is doing fine. They all saw you at the press conference. I don’t want to keep you on the phone. Please have a good night sleep.” Dr. Kaviani responded.

“Thanks, Vahid, please keep in touch.” Dr. Jolly hung up the phone, looked at the clock. It was past midnight. He set the alarm clock for 6 AM to call his daughter and turned off the light.

Early in the morning Dr. Jolly called his daughter, Jenna in India.

“Honey, how are you doing?”

“Hi Dad, I was going to call you. I have not been able to find an earlier flight. My flight is in 3 days from now. So, I think it should be OK.”

“Well, sweetheart, I am a little concerned. I just got an update from India that there’s going to be flight restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.”

“Well, we seem to be OK at the meditation center, here.”

“I don’t know. Jenna, I am a little worried. This virus is spreading very fast. I am in Geneva. We just had a big meeting at the WHO. As you might have heard the news, we are calling this a pandemic. It’s everywhere and it’s hard to know how different countries are going to react in the next few days.”

“Oh, I see. I don’t know. I think what we are doing here at the meditation center is the solution to many health problems. Everyone should be vegan and meditate.”

“I agree with you. Most people are not even close to those standards. For now, we must protect everyone and try to stop the spread of the virus. So please be careful.”

“Sure, dad, please don’t worry. I will keep you posted if anything comes up. My flight is for Los Angles as you know. I will spend a week with mom and then will come home to New York.”

“Sure, sweetheart. I love you.”

“I love you too, dad.”  

Dr. Jolly went back to the WHO headquarters for more meetings and consultations with his colleagues amidst a world of uncertainties and chaos.  

© 2022 Ramses Rashidi