Corona virus in India

COVID-19, a human-to-human transmissible respiratory disease originated from Wuhan province of China that has turned around our life in every possible manner. Trust me, there's a new NORMAL for every one of us living the rest of our life.

The first-ever corona virus case was reported on January 30 in India.

However, as of 2 June 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has confirmed a total of 1,98,706 cases, 95,527 recoveries (including 1 migration), and 5,598 deaths in the country. The worst affected states are Maharastra, Tamilnadu, NCT of Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh. #India has reported the largest number of corona virus cases in Asia.

When COVID-19 cases start to come in big numbers the government decided to lock down the whole country. It was one of the courageous steps, but was it unplanned?

To contain the spread of corona virus and flatten its curve in India, PM Narendra Modi announced a stringent 21-day lock down aka Lock down 1.0 ( From 25 March 2020 - 14 April 2020) followed by Lock down 2.0 (15 April 2020 - 3 May 2020), Lock down 3.0 (4 May 2020 – 17 May 2020), Lock down 4.0 ( 18 May 2020 – 31 May 2020).

Lock down 5.0 is ongoing in the country for the places listed in the containment zones and Unlock 1.0 for people outside the containment zone. 

Different phases of lock down have shown some of the most disturbing pictures from across the country. YES, I'm talking about migrant workers/labors who were left with no choice other than moving to their respective homes on foot. Many miss-happenings were reported from different parts of the country. Once the condition was noticed by the central and the state governments, efforts were made to bring workers back to their homes (by running special Sramik trains and state government buses).

We can't deny the fact that the lock down caused by COVID-19 or say corona virus outbreak was financially, mentally, and psychologically challenging for every class of people living in this country. But, it affected the INDIAN ECONOMY as a whole.

Why UNLOCK 1.0?

Despite the rise in an average of 8,000 new cases every 24 hours since 1st June 2020, India is re-opening and re-opening at large.

Guidelines issued by the central government suggested that the fifth phase of lock down to contain COVID-19 disease would continue only in the containment zones, while several economic activities outside the containment zones can be resumed following the safety guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Talking to BBC News on COVID-19, a public health expert quoted:

"The original purpose of the lock down was to delay the spike so we can put health services and systems in place, so we can handle the spike [when it comes], that objective, to a large extent, has been met."

We all know that from day one, the nationwide lock down came with a huge cost, especially for those who were daily wage workers. It simply put every food chain at risk, cost millions of livelihoods, and rattled every business on which there foundation on which the Indian economy was upright and tall. As the lock down disrupted the whole economy the unemployment rose at an unprecedented rate.

As per CMIE's data, the unemployment rate in May stood at 23.48 % in the month of May from March's 8.74%It was reported that 27 million youth age group 20-30 years lost jobs in the month of April in India.

Experts say that lock down is simply not affordable financially, socially, and psychologically. If opinions of analysts are taken into consideration, the first phase of lock down may have cost the Indian economy a heavy amount of 0.8 lakh crores. As the nation was heading towards an economic crisis, there's no better option than opening it in a phased manner.

But, the fact is, corona virus is not going anytime soon and there's no other option left than to follow the health protocols. So, wash your hands with soap regularly for at least 20 seconds, maintain social distancing of at least 2 meters, and use face masks properly. You should take every possible precaution to stay safe from COVID-19.

One last request from my side "keep the mother nature clean". Thank you!