PREDICTION OF A VIRUS OUTBREAK AND USAGE OF MASKS IN 2011 ITSELF

Almost 10 years back, that is, in 2011, one of my friends had suggested that i start a blog. So i started a blog and wrote a few articles/blogs. Later, i stopped pursuing the blog and even forgot all about it.
Today, as i was going through my old emails, i chanced upon a link to my old blog. I clicked on it to see if it was still active after nearly 10 years. I was surprised to see that it was still active. I went through the posts i had written then. A couple of posts were on the then Cricket World Cup that India won.
Some articles were general in nature.
One article interested me. I had jotted down my thoughts after reading about an incident of radiation leak that took place in Japan. Expressing a sense of apprehension that this was a precursor to more horrendous man-made disasters, i had written the following passage:
“Ok, so there was the earthquake followed by the tsunami and then the threat of nuclear radiation in Japan. Today it is Japan, tomorrow, it might be the turn of other countries. In the light of the above, i really see a grim future for planet Earth. I wonder what will happen in another 25 years, with man fighting a different kind of survival battle, a battle with BACTERIA, VIRUSES, Nuclear threats, Gas leaks, Terrorist attacks, Natural Calamities and what not. I really pity the forthcoming generations of people. Even if they eventually find a way out, it will still be one fraught with complications so much that the way of life will be drastically altered. Human beings may end up like some strange creatures we see in science fiction movies, with MASKS...anti-rays dress…special glasses et al. The way things are shaping up now, the future seems bleak. But with science advancing day by day, maybe man will find a way out….”
I was surprised that I, a common man, had written about these Viruses and wearing of Masks in 2011 itself.
When an ordinary person like me could foresee these impending disasters waiting to happen by reckless acts of Man, i am sure scientists and researchers should have all along been wary of a virus — airborne, indestructible, self-perpetuating, multiplying beyond our calculations, emerging out of either a horribly gone wrong experiment or through a freak biological phenomenon somewhere which could wreck dreadful havoc on unprepared citizens of the world. Thus, I wonder why no one could really predict the scale of this pandemic and in case they did, it’s an enigma as to why they did not raise an alarm about the insidious nature of the virus. Had it been done, it would not only have prevented the massive disruption of normal life, but also saved precious lives. I really believe that this is a big failure on the part of virologists of all countries.
There are two factors that instill hope among the fear stricken people at large – Development of a safe, effective and accessible vaccine for COVID-19 and an optimism that the peak is round the corner which could result in flattening the curve soon.
God save our dear Earth!!!
You can see my blog written in March 2011 using the following link:
http://Kazathoughts.blogspot.com//