Hyderabad: The second half of the 21-day nationwide lockdown, mandated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to curb the COVID-19 contagion, has begun. In his words, the only way to contain the virus which has no cure yet is to maintain social distancing.
While the spread of the virus is less intense in comparison with the US and Europe; the number of confirmed cases across the country is rising at an alarming rate. In the wake of increasing virus hotspots nationwide, the Prime Minister posed some crucial questions to the Chief Ministers. He asked if the states had readied their exit strategies to control the virus outbreak.
The three-week lockdown was intended to “break the chain” of nCoV infections. Once the government removes this 21-day confinement, people may come out in crowds and gather everywhere. Then the whole motive behind containment measures will become a farce. So, it is best to continue quarantining the virus hotspots while gradually removing the restrictions in mildly affected areas.
An official statement said that the airlines can start selling tickets post-April 14. Along with a gradual withdrawal of lockdown, extensive contact tracing and testing must be done in all the states. The Centre and states must work together with the common aim of reducing the number of fatalities.
Two months before India announced a lockdown, the coronavirus epicentre Wuhan was completely quarantined. Many areas in the Hubei province also saw tough restrictions. By the time we participated in the 'Janata Curfew', China began seeing a decline in the number of positive cases.
The Chinese government had adopted a step-by-step approach in lifting off the two-month lockdown in Wuhan. While continuing the restrictions on the movement of locals, the government has permitted the arrival of outsiders. Except for Wuhan, railway stations and airports are functioning as usual in other places. Wuhan, which has been bearing the brunt of being the COVID-19 epicentre, is now seeing some activity as the government resumed subways and shopping complexes.
Despite loosening the restrictions on banks and buses, people over the age of 65 are banned from taking public transport unless it is necessary. Mr Liu Dongru of the Hubei Health Commission said, “Zero reported cases do not equal risk”. Realising the truth in these words, our governments must work towards implementing gradual measures. A commitment to strictly enforce restrictions in densely populated areas will protect the nation from this pandemic.
An estimated loss of INR 35,000 crores per day is reported during the lockdown. The losses over 21 days sum up to INR 7,50,000 crores. These numbers show how critical the confinement measures are for India. The Prime Minister has clarified earlier that the lives of citizens are more important to his government than the financial gains or losses. If the citizens return to their usual unhygienic and careless selves once the lockdown period expires; the country has to face dismal consequences.
If we do not follow personal hygiene, or leave social distancing to the wind and start assembling in groups; the contagion will know no bounds. Countries like the US, UK and Italy with robust healthcare are unable to grapple with the COVID-19 outbreak. Their medical systems are collapsing.
In order to prevent such a situation from repeating itself in India, the entire nation must follow the lockdown norms. The Karnataka government decided to continue the confinement measures in virus hotspots like Bengaluru, Mysuru and Chikkaballapur. Every state must take necessary steps to prevent other areas from becoming hotspots.
Several Chief Ministers have already put forward their proposals about farmers’ yield collection, religious congregations, etc. Following the constitutional maxim of “One for all, all for one”, we must take a leaf out of other countries, unite as a nation and emerge victorious in this battle against COVID-19.
