In the month of March when the lockdown was announced the entire population woke to an completely strange reality that a pandemic had struck and there was no way to beat it than to stay indoors. People got introduced to an entirely different language – social distancing, flattening the cure, breaking the chain. It was a new world around. No one had any idea of what would follow. It took time to sink in, and adjust to a new pattern of life. Some sections of the populations suffered severely in this lockdown. When the time period of the first lockdown came to a close, another was announced, and now after that period expired we are into lockdown 3.0. Though there are some relaxation, and unlike earlier two lockdowns government has started differentiating areas according to the severity of the problem. This calibration has resulted into dividing the areas into Red, Orange and Green.
The lockdown, and the stringency of its application will now vary from one zone to another zone. But there are certain questions that are popping up to the surface. The hit that the economy has taken during this lockdown is something that goes without saying. The mental trauma that this lockdown has inflicted on people is also something for everyone to see. This too is a common knowledge that government cannot go on with this policy of lockdown for too long, and qualifying the areas as per the severity of the problem is the first step towards relaxing the restrictions. One the resections are over and people start getting back to routine what would happen. The virus is still there and we have not found a cure for it as yet. It is true that the lockdown helped in saving lives, and also saving the system from a collapse. But the main function of a lockdown is to buy time, and prepare for the challenge. The question that looms large is that are we now prepared to take on the challenge once people started coming out. Have we enough testing facilities. Do we have hospitals ready for taking in patients. Do we have enough protective gears for doctors and paramedics. In a nutshell, have we added to the healthcare facilities all this while. This question stares the administration in the face.