COVID-19, the
pandemic caused by a virus originating from Wuhan, China seems no sign of
peaking out. Yet, as in any battle, human mankind will emerge triumphant.
However, to expect life to be same post pandemic might not be a valid
proposition. Indubitably, life will return to normal and with passage of time,
the aftereffects are forgotten. Hardly anybody remembers the after effects of
Spanish flu though in terms of destruction it was far more severe. As with any
disruption, there are bound to be changes that bring about their own unique
idiosyncrasies. Similarly, the changes brought about by the current round would
be long lasting. The post “
Tech
Forecasts and the Post China Virus World” captured some of the possible
changes thanks to technology in the post pandemic world.
In continuation with the above post, it would
be pertinent to decode some more features that might characterize the post
pandemic universe.
Sanitization Tunnels
The economy
cannot come to a standstill. The business has to function. Yet aside of social
distancing, there seems to be no other panacea to the Wuhan virus induced
epidemic. Humans are social animals by nature and thus any disruption is bound
to have psychological effects. The trade-off has to be resolved. The outcome is
the emergence of sanitization tunnels. They are just emerging in hospitals and
few market places. They will soon spring up at almost all places. It is only
matter of time the tunnel becoming granular. A few instances would highlight
the same. Given the disruption, it is unlikely there would be no redundancy or
precautionary measures built up to prevent another round of disruption. Metro
services in most urban areas carry large number of passengers with zero
possibility of social distancing unless one is prepared to have a law and order
at hand. The solution would be setting up a sanitizing tunnel at the entrance
of metro stations where commuters could get sanitized. It might be expanded to
railway stations, malls, bus stands, airports, manufacturing industries, IT
hubs and offices and perhaps even to large apartment buildings. There are
reports of its ineffectiveness at the moment but the learning curve will come
into play soon and will become a mass product long after the pandemic has
disappeared. It might come with its own externalities but time perhaps will
resolve them.
Drones
Drones were
subject to precautionary principle in practice. However, the pace of innovation
has far outpaced the law regulating the same. Drones are highly underutilized.
But with the necessities posed by the pandemic, drones are increasingly being
used. In terms of mass sanitization, drones are now being used. Drones will be
used in public places to undertake temperature screening etc. Further drone
based deliveries long visualized by Amazon might become a reality. As people
remain in the houses during lockdown, drones might be used to undertake
deliveries from local delivery hubs to the final destination. Drones might be
become critical in delivering medical supplies to remote locations. Already,
Rwanda was experimenting delivery of blood to remote places via drones. Drones
are already being used in places like Hong Kong for monitoring law and order
but the usage of the same might go up significantly.
Surveillance technologies
There has long
been a battle between advocates of privacy and those who surveillance to
maintain public order. The genie has escaped from the bottle. The relative
success of Singapore, South Korea etc. have been attributed to the extensive usage
of surveillance tools to track contacts of positive patients and consequently the
movements of positive patients and their contacts. The electronic fencing might
be in the initial stages but would develop significantly with the insertion of
new technological tools. Long after the pandemic abates, the national security
would be the biggest reason for its preponderance. To the intelligence
community, these tools now available on many smart phones would be starting
point to track the movements of suspects engaged against national order. To the
medical community, it might be good tool to track patients and their progress. It
would be good tool to warn people of any dangers. In fact, people engaged in
unruly activities or sabotage might be geo-fenced electronically. People might
be warned of their presence in nearby areas. There might be unintended consequences
but surveillance would be different ball game post pandemic. Privacy as we know
it might die and very different approach to privacy might emerge in ways we do
not even imagine at the moment.
Granular medical instrumentation
As time passes,
many of the medical instruments being used will turn granular. The blood test
for sugar levels is already disrupted thanks to glucometer. It might only be
matter of time that there would be virometers or bacetriometers that would test
the presence of bacteria or virus in the human body. Genetic mapping can be
carried out using at-home kits. Such kits might now expand in the horizon. There
would antibody meters testing the antibody presence in the body. These test
might be blood tests or tests of saliva or maybe even throat or nasal swabs. There
might be even tests of ‘x-raying’ skin to find any changes in blood underneath
thus building non-invasive tools of testing. Thermometers in contactless form
might witness rapid adoption. In fact linked with smartphones, these medical
instruments might keep on getting updated to facilitate them tracking more
virus, bacteria or other microbial organisms. The face of primary diagnostics
and healthcare would be changed radically. The system of diagnostics would be
more for confirmatory or deeper analysis rather than a primary tool.
The above
forecasts like in the previous posts are observations based on the current ecosystem
and the necessities. There is a forecaster’s hazard, something that one ends up
forecasting but ending up with the egg on the face. At times, the forecasts are
perhaps too early for their times and might eventually make an appearance long
after the forecaster has even forgotten about the same. Notwithstanding the
risk of forecasts going wrong, it might be useful reiterating association of a greater
risk of forecasts to have underestimated the gravity and quantum of change
about to be unleashed.
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