Lockdown – Advantages and Disadvantages of Lockdown: You probably were unaware of this term till now, so it’s better to throw some light on what is Lockdown and what are its pros and cons for a country. Curfew, Lockdown, and shutdown are emergency protocols implemented by a government to ensure public safety either in the wake of a public health emergency, violent incidents, or wartime. The primary concern for implementing these protocols is to safe keep the population from any financial, health, and physical harm. Let’s walk through more details and find out some facts.
A lockdown situation arises following an emergency protocol in order to prevent people from leaving a specific area. Such a situation is triggered due to an outbreak or contagion spreading rapidly across a region.
People are not allowed to leave given premises heeding to all the appropriate measures required for the containment of a viral disease. This protocol is implemented due to public health concerns and can last for an uncertain period.
Lockdown is required to break the chain of transmission of spreading of a virus that can travel from one person to another in multiplicity. During a lockdown situation, every person is to live inside their homes avoiding any movements at public places.
This protocol is followed to lessen or cease the movement of viral infection. Given that a country devises a plan to deal with the disease in time, Government authorities can lift this emergency anytime.
A Lockdown situation can’t be interchanged as a Curfew or Shutdown. During a lockdown period, all the non-essential workplaces, services, institutions, and places are shut to avoid mass gathering. However, places like stores, medical institutions, banking institutions, Gas Stations, and pharmacies are functional during this period to allow people to access and fulfill essential needs.
Although a country lockdown is enforced by the authorities considering the public’s best interest, there are outcomes and events that may turn favorable as well as adverse for locked out citizens.
Also Read: Social Distancing and its OutcomesPublic Health Emergency is why the government enforces a lockdown. This scenario is the preliminary phase of a Medical emergency that halts the movement of viral infections by ceasing movements of humans.
A person is allowed to go out of the home for essential needs only. A lockdown is put to effect when a country has not adequate antidote or cure to curb the impact of a pandemic.
Blatant to eyes, during a lockdown people tend to minimize using their vehicles and automobiles including public transport. Industrial activities are also restricted during the lockdown phase, which also results in minimal emission of pollutants into water bodies and atmosphere.
Venice, Italy can be taken as the ideal outcome of lockdown. After declaring a lockdown after the COVID-19 outbreak, the fall in number of tourists turned out to be vital for the canals of Venice.
Being progressive and dynamic is what humans need to survive on earth. But, sometimes we also forget that nature treats every creature the same. Where lockdown seems quite disturbing to the humankind, it is turning out to be environment-friendly.
A clean and fresh atmosphere is what springs wildlife and brings balance to the ecosystem ultimately. With stopping the combustion of resources and fuels, animals get the benefit of lockdown entirely. Lockdown is a restorative process for many species that are extinct at the moment.
Sounds rhetoric, but that sometimes a strict and disciplined lifestyle is what can be beneficial during a lockdown. Staying indoors means, you can capitalize on your time and money on your health and the things that surround you. Access to food and healthcare items means you cannot access liquor or smokes even though you have an extreme urge or craving for such.
For chain smokers and alcoholics, Lockdown seems a lifetime opportunity to stay bid goodbye to unhealthy practices. Also, you can draw yourself to good habits and utilize the creative side of your brain investing your time in healthy exercises and activities.
Healthy Read: How to Boost ImmunityFor the people with busy and hectic work life, Lockdown narrows all the possibility of missing out on your memorable moments with family. Limited and restricted contacts lead you to stay close to your loved ones which can’t ever be possible while you are occupied at the workplace.
You tend to learn to share some quality time with your family and staying together at the worst of times. As the saying goes, "Bad Times Brings us Closer."
While companies and industries abide by the laws of lockdown, people can entertain the benefits of lockdown by working from home. For those who are not habitual to this lifestyle, an emergency like this is pretty much helpful. Working from home is a great way to help you adapt to a different atmosphere while you manage your mails and execute your work plan.
Flipping the coin, some concerning factors make us heed to the downsides of a lockdown situation. These certain factors force us to consider what major impacts we may face in the future or at present due to a medical crisis like Novel Coronavirus Outbreak.
The demand and supply curve gets disarrayed entirely due to a lockdown emergency. From a small scale to a larger scale business, a pandemic sounds the alarm dragging the economic state of a country backward. With no functioning of industry, there is no employment for blue-collar employees and daily wagers.
Consumers with assured income have limited sources to spend on basic amenities. With no income during the crisis, people might also have to face inflation and fiscal inconvenience.
Countries largely affected by a global outbreak are pulled backward and take more time to recover. The developmental hurdles of a country are considerably higher in number after a setback. This eventually affects a country’s GDP as well as currency exchange rates.
Becoming the world’s first country, India had enforced an experimental lockdown for 21 days. This 21-day lockdown has put India on the verge of an economic crisis. With no further reports or orders on how long this lockdown might get extended, people with no job security (daily wagers) dreaded job loss due to this emergency.
Even though many governments assure to supply unessential workers to guard their life with benefits, not all the affected people are able to entertain the benefits. Around 3.3 million people alone in the USA had applied for unemployment claims endangered by the pandemic fearing a job loss.
From manufacturing to R&D sectors, from Blue-collar to White-collar employees, the work machinery gets into total disarray. One of the most concerning and noticeable downsides of lockdown situations is its impact on the education system. The pandemic strikes the developed and the developing nations equally.
With nations relying on digital modes of education, the education system may still be in order. But the businesses are severely impacted. While with developing nations, the situation is exactly upside down.
Bringing an entire country to Lockdown can result in massive exodus even if the citizens are not allowed to do so. Heading back to New Delhi (India) where blue-collar employees had no employment benefits like US-Citizens with no job security.
With a population of more than 1.3 billion, the Indian government had gambled with many lives. On the fourth day of lockdown, many migrant laborers stranded in New Delhi had to flee the Capital City due to lack of shelter, food, money and imposed restrictions due to public health emergencies.
With limited time to buy food and other essential supplies, people tend to buy more items than usual and stockpile. Many consumers are left empty-handed since the supply of commodities during a lockdown gets shortened by many reasons.
Where some people stockpile the commodities, some may panic due to a shortage of supplies. This situation may lead to price-hike and also shortage. Black Marketing is one of the dreadful drawbacks of lockdown, where people have to spend more to fulfill their basic needs.
This situation can only be circumcised by monitoring by government and acting as per provisions.
During a Lockdown people are permitted to move out their restricted perimeters to gather essential commodities and supplies for survival. People can seek further assistance from the law enforcement authority to access basic amenities.
Curfew is an emergency protocol that is enforced by the law and is universally implemented by the authorities in a particular region. Curfew is generally put to action during public unrest and disorder caused due to uncivilized acts or clashes. Put to effect immediately, Policing authority is the sole in-charge of the situation and has the right to act in favor of or against the people to maintain law and order.Under exceptional circumstances, the Military may also come to act during curfew to bring a critical situation under control. Any unlawful activity can land a person straight to jail or punishment as per Judicial laws.
Lockdown may or may not be voluntary, but Shutdown is enforced by the body of law. This protocol may or may not refer to the entire working system and can be limited to business or industrial sectors. A Shutdown can be more severe on a country’s economy as shutdown is implemented for a specific period regardless of how long it may take to improve a situation or crisis.
A lockdown is quite a critical situation as compared to Curfew. Curfew is implemented for a certain period, whereas, a lockdown can extended for uncertain period. Here are some tips for citizens to stay safe and secure during such emergency.
Lockdown impacts a country's economic growth entirely since every sector relies on manpower. At such times, citizens from lower to higher classes are at risk of fiscal slowdown. With mobility put to restrictions, Industrial sectors, education sector, transportation system, and Agriculture sector are at maximum risk.
For metropolitan residents, lockdown is a ticket to share more of their time with their families. It is an opportune moment to put away the hustles and bustles of commuting to the workplace every day and settle up in their homes. Learn creative things and work from a homely atmosphere.
Countries able to contain the outbreak in time and lift the lockdown will be able to grow faster than the others. The faster the response to an outbreak, the speedier will be a country's progress. Survival of the Fittest suffices the answer.
Working Class people are at the highest risk of adversities brought up by Lockdown. Migrant employees working on the basis of daily wages have no food, shelter, and medical safety. The major challenge to face a country is to provide equal facilities to such citizens during the lockdown.
