But the lockdown has brought life to a standstill. People were advised to stay home and do office work by using digital and electronic technology. All activities — business or otherwise, with the exception of some emergency and essential services-- came to a halt. All sorts of transportation are restricted and inter-state movements of people banned. Lockdown has impacted upon the lives of the people. Malls, retail shops, places of worship, educational institutions, eateries where people gather in large numbers are ordered closed. Only medicine shops and other outlets that cater essential services are allowed to function. To mitigate the problems of the poor and migrant workers cooked food and ration are distributed at select places and stay for the homeless have been arranged at places. Usual life in urban areas came to an absolute halt. Labourers are left with no work. Appeal was made to employers not to lay off their workers or cut their salary and to house owners were labourers stay to defer payment of rent. But will the employers and house owners heed to this appeal? Certainly the lockdown will have a telling impact on the economy!

Lockdown has some positive impact on containing the spread of novel coronavirus. India’s number of detected cases and deaths are still lower than many of the countries where the virus has taken a toll. In absence of a definite cure (which is yet to be discovered), the country’s poor healthcare infrastructure is struggling to against all odds. Several therapies are being attempted by administering doses that cure malaria, HIV AIDS, tuberculosis and the like. Kerala is administering plasma therapy. The results are forthcoming in some cases. As on April 13, out of 9,240 active cases 1096 patients were cured, while the death toll was at 331, as the Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 map that’s being updated in real time.

The purpose of the lockdown was more to contain the spread of virus. The positive impact is visible. People are now used to maintain social distance of about a metre, wearing masks and hand gloves. Practice of cleanliness at home and regular hand wash with sanitizers is becoming a daily routine. Also awareness has been generated to keep the locality clean. This shows that the country is moving towards the goal of Swacch Bharat. With practically no traffic on roads, the levels of atmospheric pollution have drastically come down across the country. Hope after the lockdown is lifted and normal life resumes, people will be using masks when the atmospheric pollution level rises!

According to the spokesperson of the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, Luv Aggarwal the lockdown helped to stabilise the situation prior to the spurt in number of cases detected in the religious gathering, Tablighi Jamaat at Alumi Markaz Banglewali Masjid complex in Nizamuddin West in Delhi where about 8,000 people participated, including foreigners from 41 countries. Most of these foreigners were infected by the novel virus. As per reports this gathering contributed to more than 31 per cent active coronavirus cases.

On March 13 Delhi government issued order banning gathering of more than 200 people and subsequently on March 16 it restricted the public gathering to 50. But Tablighi Jammat went ahead with its three-day programme from March 13. Neither screening of delegates was done by the organizers nor the cases of corona infected delegates reported. Strangely Government’s intelligence failed to know about the meeting till Maulana Saad reported around March 25. The Union government claimed that most of the foreign delegates were given tourist visas and not for participating in the conference and it blacklisted 960 such cases.

Now as period of 21-day lockdown and curfew is nearing its end on April 14, speculations are rife about the likely situation thereafter. The Prime Minister is busy discussing with leaders of various political parties and chief ministers. The Prime Minister had advocated phased withdrawal of lockdown.

The question is whether the absolute countrywide lockdown imposed on March 24 imperative? In late December, last year the reports of Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan province in China came to the fore. In January 29 WHO warns the entire world of the likely spread of Coronavirus. The virus did not originate from India. It was carried by travellers who came to this country. In January 30 first case of Coronavirus infection was reported in India when a student from Wuhan University returned to his home town in Kerala. This should have been a wakeup call for India. Visas should have been suspended for all Coronavirus infected countries and it should have been an ongoing process as reports of new countries being infected the virus come in, instead of waiting for March 13 to suspend visas. To and fro international flights to these countries should been then suspended instead of waiting for March 22. Land borders with infected countries should have been sealed.

Those Indians staying in virus infected countries should have been brought back with due care and thereafter tested. Foreigners staying in India should have been evacuated. So far 20,473 foreigners have been evacuated.

If these gradual processes were followed in time the situation could have been different. There would not have been the need for imposing absolute lockdown. However, fearing the rapid spread of the virus the government imposed countrywide lockdown after the Budget session of Parliament ended. Passing of the Budget was necessary for the country.

Now, as the deadline for 21-day absolute lockdown is slated to end on April 14, government should identify hotspots and clusters were the disease is prevalent and impose lockdown only in those areas. It should take care that the virus spread remains local and prevent community transfer of the disease. In other parts of the country the absolute lockdown should be gradually lifted. (IPA Service)