Believing COVID-19 is a localised phenomenon is wrong, says Anand Mahindra

Mahindra Group chairperson Anand Mahindra said that there is a mistake that has been repeated twice now when it comes to the COVID-19 spread. He said that the global community tends to assume that the problem is a 'localised phenomenon' but it isn't. Mahindra said that the first time was when COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan and the other time was when the Delta variant spread in India.

Mahindra said that while the global community was sympathetic, it only later realised that the problem is not localised. “When India was being ravaged by the Delta variant, the world made the same mistake that it had made when COVID-19 first broke out in Wuhan: it was sympathetic, but presumed that the problem was a localised phenomenon… Twice wrong…”, the Mumbai-based business tycoon tweeted. To elucidate the point, Mahindra posted clippings of reports on the spread of Delta variant in other countries.

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Users could not agree more with the business magnate. While some said one usually ignores problems till the time they slap one in the face, others said the world adopted a similar approach vis-à-vis terrorism. Others also asserted that Indians are themselves hurtling faster towards another COVID-19 wave by not wearing face masks and putting social distancing at bay in public places.

Here’s how Twitter users reacted to Mahindra’s recent tweet

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Apart from Mahindra and his followers on social media, Apollo Hospitals Group Joint Managing Director Dr Sangita Reddy also believes that looking at the COVID-19 crisis as a localised phenomenon is flawed. While sharing an article on the conditions faced by healthcare workers in US’ Louisiana, she recounted the “soul breaking memories of what healthcare workers in India went through during the second wave”.

“This story brings back soul breaking memories of what healthcare workers in India went through during the second COVID-19 wave! Let’s not make the mistake of presuming that controlling the problem is a localised phenomenon. Uncontrolled spread anywhere is a risk everywhere,” Dr Reddy tweeted.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

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