Dr Pankaj Mehta
It is not what Twenty one (21) days lockdown that matters but it is all about what we Indians do and how we react on the day twenty second(22) after Twenty one (21) days lockdown which is going to end on 14 April, 2020 . The glimpse of what is going to happen is presented in this article. On March 22, 2020 during the ‘Janta Curfew’ the way we came out of our homes on balconies, terraces, open spaces, gardens etc. and appreciated the health workers and administration with bells and conchs now on day twenty second(22) after lockdown period the whole country is going to come out of their homes on streets, roads, national highways, parks, public places etc. with national flags in their hands, singing patriotic songs and shouting slogans like we Indians have won a war completely forgetting that we have not eliminated the risk of COVID-19 but we only made an effort to reduce its impact of transmission in the community.
The so called educated people of the Metropolitans, cities will be going to the public places like cinema halls malls, restaurants, parks etc. neglecting the fact that we all cannot abandon social distancing failing to realize that COVID-19 may still be there present waiting for us to carry it to homes. All the MSME’s (micro, small, medium enterprise), government sectors, corporate offices, public transportation will start their normal functioning. The private sectors will be working in double shifts with extra hours to overcome the left over pending work of the lockdown period putting the employees to a possible contamination at large. Those who left for their villages (labourers, contractual workers, daily wagers etc.) will come back to the cities in hope of earning livelihood and due to any reason of negligence if these people are travelling through train/bus showing mild symptoms having not being tested will be hosting the virus to effect another 100’s to 1000’s of people in the city. The public transportation system will be overcrowded exposing the people and making them at risk of catching COVID-19. This is what exactly seems to happen on day twenty second (22) after the lockdown. We will forget that we are in the middle of the pandemic. We will be back to our normal lives without masks, sanitizers and forgetting social distancing and why not as we have found a remedy of COVID-19 by staying home for a period of twenty one(21) days.
There will be high chances for the spread of second wave of COVID-19 in the country again. If you all don’t believe me you can check the statistics of virus called N1H1 which arose in the year 2009 wherein the same thing occurred. So technically the period of twenty one(21) days quarantine will be absolutely useless until and unless we educate our people what exactly need to be done on the day twenty second(22) that is 15 April 2020 to avoid another lockdown being declared. The effective measures need to be taken on day twenty second(22) are as follows:
• Forget get-together, avoid party, avoid accumulating in masses at religious places and try to behave in the same fashion and manner to the extent possible as we all did in the last twenty one(21) days of lockdown period remembering that social distancing is the beginning for culmination of COVID-19.
• Educate and spread awareness about the after effects of COVID-19 to common man who do not have access to resources.
• It is a request to the government to take into consideration these points before taking any further decision after the lockdown is over. The lockdown need to be opened stage-wise for example from April 15, 2020 the essential services like banks, grocery store etc. which were functioning in shifts in the lockdown period need to be made fully functional however educational institutes and public transportation shall be made partially operational after couple of weeks the frequency can be increased monitoring the effects of the spread of COVID-19.
• Cinema halls, malls,parks, restaurants, pubs etc. shall be kept at the last priority for making partially and fully operational. If we all can understand the seriousness of the issue as a responsible citizen and come together to overcome the situation only then we can make a difference in the lives of 1.35 billion Indians. |
