‘Oxygen is the need of the hour’ – 40 quotes from India’s COVID-19 struggle

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week. This special series of compilations focuses on India’s COVID-19 struggle (see last week’s post here). Share these quotes and excerpts with your networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Oxygen is the need of the hour. - Ashutosh Verma, Exalta

The need for the distribution of these oxygen concentrators is critical. - Juggy Marwaha, Prestige Office Ventures

We have a requirement from hospitals in Maharashtra, UP, Delhi, Gujarat, etc., for more than 5,000 concentrators. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. - Rahul Aggarwal, Designhill

Additional healthcare facilities are one of the most critical needs of the hour. - Reliance Foundation

With COVID-19, oxygen saturation dropping and respiration rates changing are vital signs, especially among those with higher HRTC scores. - Mudit Dandwate, Dozee

If you are not getting vaccinated, then you are becoming a liability on the nation. - Ritesh Malik, Innov8 Coworking

Most vaccination centres are currently located inside hospitals and the staff is at a breaking point with all the COVID-19 cases coming in.  - Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Ujala-Cygnus Hospitals

The government's decision to open up the vaccination programme and permit private hospitals to procure vaccines directly from the manufacturers is a much-required step to counter the COVID-19 threat. - Shobana Kamineni, Apollo Hospitals

In the second wave, there is a lot of fear among people. People are thinking twice about going to hospitals [to donate plasma] because of the increasing number of cases. - Vikas Katragadda, Aikyatha

In the second wave of the pandemic, we are seeing a lot of young adults between the ages of 30 to 40 years are getting impacted, and so are children. - Dr Jagdish Chaturvedi

One of the immediate things to do is to essentially call a shutdown of the country. - Anthony Fauci

Our priorities were towards (state) elections, Kumbh, these are super spreaders. Our priorities as a country were wrong. - Ritesh Malik, Innov8 Coworking

Health is a state of complete mental, social, and physical well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. - World Health Organisation

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The lockdown has been a very different experience in terms of art practice. While it gave time for reflection and exploration, it also brought about restlessness and anxiety. - Kanchan Rathna, Chitra Santhe

One additional item that people should be adding to their arsenal is an air purifier as the coronavirus is not going anywhere anytime soon. - Kartik Singhal, O2 Cure

Access, convenience, and long-term physical and mental health are the primary factors that determine sustainable fitness. - Mallika Parekh, Physique 57 India

Given that work has shifted to remote for so many, being sedentary has also gone up. Prioritise the time you would have spent commuting in exercise. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR

We feel there is a deep need for healthier and good-for-you products and this interest has only been fuelled by the pandemic. - Ainara Kaur, Belora Cosmetics

India was there for us, and we will be there for them. - US President Joe Biden

We need to be there for everyone around the world because we don't get through this pandemic anywhere until we get through it everywhere. – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

We stand in solidarity with India at this difficult time, and commend the tireless efforts of India's frontline medics and healthcare workers who are working hard to save lives. - Nanaia Mahuta, New Zealand Foreign Minister

This global crisis requires a global response. - Suzanne Clark, US Chamber of Commerce

The American people stand in solidarity with our friends in India during these difficult times. – Wendy Sherman, US Deputy Secretary of State

We want to stand side by side with India as this is a crisis of historic proportions and would require our immediate and urgent assistance. - Dr T Chandroo, SICCI

We have all been globally traumatised. - Brett Kahr, UK Council for Psychotherapy

COVID-19 has severely impacted India in unimaginable ways. -  Amit Agarwal, Amazon

It’s easy to say stay strong, much harder to do so. But when we come together as a collective force, we can emerge from this crisis. - Kunal Shah, CRED

Whenever you do something good, people always tend to bring you down. - Chinu Kwatra, Khushiyaan Foundation

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronisingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. - Dr V K Paul, NITI Aayog

Travel industry is the worst hit industry from COVID-19. - Kashish Pahwa, HireACamp

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High attrition rate and remote working due to COVID-19 has underscored the significance of employee engagement in attracting, retaining and managing the workforce. - Ravi Kikan, ZingHR

The public space where trans people mainly worked - both within the Hijra community and outside it - practically evaporated. - Anindya Hajra, Pratyay Gender Trust

The foremost lesson is that design operations of buildings or communities can either help mitigate the threat of the virus, or manifest an environment where viruses or other public health hazards can easily spread. - Mahesh Ramanujam, US Green Building Council

As with any industry, COVID-19 has had an impact on the silk supply chain in India. - Mayank Tiwari, ReshaMandi

The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced focus for many brands towards rural markets. - Sandeep Deshmukh, ElasticRun

CMOs — who have a pulse on consumer sentiment, their changing needs, and lead their teams with empathy — will be able to succeed. - Mihir Kittur, Ugam

The infrastructure is crumbling, there are so many people that need help, and we want to also help the government tackle this. We cannot just sleep knowing that. - Vensy Krishna, Hydcovidresources.com

[The pandemic] has not only laid threadbare the issue of the digital divide but more importantly recast our view of digital access as a critical component to an equitable society. - Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology

Social media has become a temporary healthcare support. It's the humanity and the compassion on social media and the internet that is really shining through in these times- Masoom Minawala

Perhaps, the most troubling aspect of this pandemic is the open-endedness of it. - Ruchira Chaudhary, 'Coaching'

Painful and discomforting experiences are generally good teachers and provide lifelong lessons. - Anchal Taatya, Sparklehood

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Each small contribution will help save lives. - Agastya Dalmia, Amba Dalmia Foundation

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).