Lockdown without notice period has put life in reverse gear

Lockdown without notice period has put life in reverse gear.

There has been an outbreak of Corona Virus in every nook and corner of the world. Nearly 91 countries are affected. This has prompted many Governments to enforce lockdown in their respective countries.
The lockdown is mainly to avoid spread of corona virus. It is believed that if people do not come in contact with each other then corona virus shall not spread and mankind would be in a position to wipe it out completely.

However it is difficult to believe in this logic. In Europe people maintain sufficient social distance as compared to populous asian countries. However they are the ones which are most affected.

Also another point to be noted is that animals are not dying due to Corona. There are few stray cases of cat deaths. But then the number is not as high as human beings.

Based on current measures known to curtail corona spread is social distancing. In view of this even Government has no option but to enforce lockdown.

The Corona Virus started in China in December 2019. They enforced lockdown in areas where cases were reported. Those who tested positive were locked in their own houses and left to die. Those who were in same area were put in home quarantine. Movement of people from one district to another was blocked.

It has spread to Italy in January , France/ Spain in February , USA in March .

It is difficult to believe that spread is due to movement of people across continents. Even if it is then how fast it has reached to every nook and corner of countries ?

The lockdown enforced by Governments was very sudden and have caught people off guard. Whenever there is a Cyclone warning following measures are taken:

# Movement of people to safer areas
# Storage of drinking water
# Distribution of candles
# Keeping cranes and trucks ready

However this time while announcing the lock down it was done suddenly.
While it is known that it was necessary to avoid any rush and grouping of people, the possibility of virus coming to India was known since December. Like cyclone warning people should have been warned before.

If lockdown was going to be for 21 days then,

# people  should have been allowed to stock essentials.
#  Students studying elsewhere should have been allowed to travel home.
# Airlines should have been allowed to schedule their flights in such a way that crew reaches to their hometown.
# The working population in Cities should have been encouraged to go to their native place or to places where they could stay for longer.
# There are millions who consume tobacco products , alcohol on daily basis. Non availability of these items is prompting some of them to break shops and even commit suicide.
As such these habits are not good but then state also gets huge revenue due to these items. If people were warned then they would have stocked these items.
#Lockdown could have been implemented in phased manner like closing schools first then colleges , then commercial private offices 50% , then 75% Government offices , then Private offices 100%
then private vehicles / taxis / buses / trains in that order.

There could have been quick trainings organized for following skills

* Zoom meetings for teachers
* Video Conference for Lawyers
* Household work for Men and Children

The sudden lockdown and banning of house maids have put tremendous workload on housewives. They are burdened with cooking, washing vessels , washing clothes , cleanng floor and dusting furniture. Supply chain has also gone for toss as no one knew about 21 days.

It is an open fact that Indian household works on monthly budget. Groceries are purchased after salary is received which is usually 1st day of month. Lockdown started with trial on a22nd March and thereafter suddenly it was extended by 21 days. People had stock of grocery only for 1 week or so. They had to wait for salary to happen.

There is 30% population in cities which earns everyday and spends everyday. Following are categories of daily wage earners

* Construction Workers / Masons
* Coolies
* Cycle Rickshaw Pullers
* Casual Workers in Factories
* Support Workers with Caterers
* Cooks
* Brass items polishers
* Carpenters, Plumbers , Painters
* Refrigerator and Air Conditioner Repairers
* Car Mechanics
* Taxi Drivers
* Hair Saloon staff
* Hawkers

Earnings of these individuals have gone for a toss. They are practically starving.

Government has taken out directive that those who are employed their salary should be paid in full. As such in many businesses maximum collection from clients happen in end of the zmonth. If this collection has not happened due to non supply of goods or services then how to pay these salaries ?

Lockdown has created many psychological issues.

# People are worried about their income and expenditure and how to make two ends meet. They are in depression.

# Loneliness is on rise due to social distancing and less dialogue.

# Family members are stuck at different locations causing anxiety.

# The families where any suspect of Covid_19 is found are being outcast. People are even going to the extent of outcasting their relatives , friends and neighbours.

If you are thinking that after lockdown everything shall be normal then you are mistaken. The figures of those who are dead and who are infected shall be reviewed and lockdown period could be extended in intervals. Spain , Italy and USA have been doing this.

If we see number of Viruses which attacked us in last 2 decades then list is very long

# 2003 - SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom)
# 2009 - Swine Flu - H1N1
# Bird Flu
# MERS ( Middle East Respiratory Syndrom)
# Ebola
# Rift Valley Fever
# West Nille Fever
# Zika
# Nipah
# 2019 - Covid_19
# 2020- Hantha Virus

Even infections like Cholera have not been wiped out completely.
During World War 1 there was Spanish Fever outbreak which also killed many. The remedy for the same was wearing mask and washing your hands with soap water. Nothing has changed in last 100 years.

It is unfortunate that mankind has progressed so much in this century. We have gone on moon and mars. We have developed Atom Bomb , Hydrogen Bomb. We have developed war weapons like missiles , war planes , helicopters , tanks , guns , radar system etc. But we have not paid attention to basic health care.

Datt Udas
datt.udas63@gmail.com