This is the fiftieth instalment of a daily dispatch I started writing on March 19 – it should have been the 52nd but I took two breaks, each for a day. There were 169 cases in India when I started writing the dispatch, and three deaths (all data for March 18). The corresponding numbers, globally, were 218,863 and 8,983.

Back then, the coronavirus disease was largely a Chinese and Italian affair. There were 80,928 cases in China and 3,245 deaths; and 35,713 cases in Italy and 2,978 deaths. Almost 70% of deaths, and 53% of all cases were accounted for by these two countries. There were only 9,317 cases in the US, and 171 deaths. In the UK, there were 2,626 cases, and 115 deaths.

In the 52 days since, the global number of cases has increased to 3.91 million, a compound growth rate of 5.7% a day, and the global number of deaths to 270,740, a growth rate of 6.8% a day. The US now accounts for the most cases, 1.29 million, and deaths, 76,938. Spain, the UK, and France have all seen a significant number of deaths (25,000-30,000). And India now has 56,409 cases and 1,890 deaths. After 46 days of a lockdown (March 25 to May 8; the government has said the current phase will go on till May 17, although several restrictions have been eased), it is clear that the disease is yet to peak in India, although the trajectory it has followed in the country remains unique. All the numbers are from worldometers.info.

The big constant between then and now is the lack of a cure for Covid-19, but we are definitely closer to one than we were 52 days ago. A vaccine may be available later this year or early next year – whether it will be accessible to all is a different question altogether; never in human history has a vaccine been developed in as short a time for a disease about which we still don’t know enough. Gilead’s remdisivir has emerged as the breakout drug for Covid-19, but it is still not evident that it is the cure (it probably isn’t).

In the past 52 days, we have come to learn more about the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. It is highly infective, has a wide range of symptoms, likes clusters, and is not as fatal as some other viral infections (while the death numbers are still horrible). Most cases remain mild or entirely asymptomatic, and the disease is dangerous for people over the age of 60 years, and those with pre-existing health conditions. Many of us have even taught ourselves enough basic math to track growth rates and understand the probabilities of false positives and false negatives.

We have also figured out what works – lockdowns, quarantines, sterilisation, even masks. The jury was still out on masks when I started this column, with entirely well-meaning people sharing that well-produced comic strip (it went viral) that insisted they weren’t, unless one was a health worker. We know what is safe and what isn’t.

We have realised that the current cure, locking down, has a price (a big one; the Indian economy will probably shrink this year) and are desperately trying to work out a way to open up without too much risk (although it does seem a bit much to apply the old risk-return trade-off to lives). We are slowly starting to get used to the prospect of co-existing with the virus. After all, humanity has encountered pathogens through the ages – and lived to tell the tale.

And we are beginning to understand that nothing will be the same again (at least till a vaccine is discovered, perhaps even after).

It is arguable, but I do not think there’s been a more transformational period in the history of the world.