by Dr B. J. C. Perera
MBBS(Cey), DCH(Cey), DCH(Eng), MD(Paed), MRCP(UK), FRCP(Edin), FRCP(Lon), FRCPCH(UK), FSLCPaed, FCCP, Hony FRCPCH(UK), Hony. FCGP(SL)
Specialist Consultant Paediatrician and Honorary Senior Fellow, Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
This miserable and capricious coronavirus pandemic is going to be with us for a considerable time more, right into even the far and distant future. The world has had to change like never before, of course through sheer necessity. Buzz words like innovation, flexibility, collaborations, evolving situations, tackling security challenges, increasing productivity and growth of businesses, in addition to very many other newer terminologies, have suddenly sprung up as the operative nomenclature of many walks of life. Physical distancing, avoiding mass gatherings, masking and even double-masking, as well as hand-washing, are the public health mantras that have been promulgated to keep the blight at bay. All kinds of electronic portals are being used and not-in-person electronic pathways are tending to rule the roost. Schooling has been totally disrupted and online learning has been practically imposed on even very young school students. In fact, even university and higher education endeavours have shifted many a gear to go electronic. Scientific presentations, lectures, seminars and symposia are conducted, in many instances, from remote localities and even from many distant areas of the globe. The entire world has become a huge ‘village’ and to paraphrase something the great Bard William Shakespeare once wrote, ‘