8 lethal costs of 2020’s

Covid-19 lockdown

pandemic-5023893_960_7201. Physical Health: As it is in today’s lifestyle we sit by the desk all day and stare at the screen continuously. We get less exercise. Now a lot of people in strict areas are unable to go for morning and evening walks altogether. What about those living in packed apartments and short of fresh air? What about people having minor ailments which may become major ones by the time the lockdown finally ends? Everyone is not cut out for doing intense household chores and that may lead to both a physical and mental strain.

child-696171_960_7202. Mental Health: Everyone is not suited to work at home. People like going to office and gossiping and attending meetings to break the monotony. Forget extroverts, even the average person likes going out and meeting people. What about cinema halls, malls, plays and the like? People like going on vacations for a change of scenery. Now the scenery is the same day in and day out. Then there’s the issue of being packed with the family all day and that does not suit everyone. There will be a great toll on mental health.

india-2507482_960_7203. The poor: The middle class survives no matter what. It is the poor who are always hit the hardest. They suffer in normal times. They suffer even more in abnormal times. They cannot work from home. Labourers, construction and low wage workers, small farmers and mainly daily wage earners who have no savings have it bad. In many areas they are finding it difficult to even procure the basic goods: This even as it was announced recently that the world removed record people out of poverty in the 2010s. The clock has been set back for many of them. Migrant workers stranded far from home face further uncertainties.

4. Small businesses: Many of them do not have deep credit resources and small factories are losing out a lot by being shut. These businesses survive on a month to month basis and cannot afford to pay their workers regularly if there is no work being done. Even after the lockdown is over, new business is uncertain.

5. Supply chain disruptions: Global supply chains have been disrupted. Nationals ones have too. Many trucks have been abandoned along the highway. At the lower levels many workers have simply gone home. It’s going to be difficult to start certain supply chains during the lockdown and others even after. Global supply chains will be hit for the entirety of 2020.

6. Wastage: We don’t have hands to get all the crops from the fields, to distribute them to the mandis and get them out of the large godowns. While non-perishables can stay for months and some even for years, perishables will simply go bad. Even in the best of years there is a lot of wastage and now that will only go up during the lockdown.

passenger-traffic-122999_960_7207. Life disruptions: If you are in a stable working job, you can still manage and work from home. What if you had just quit or was on the verge of joining and now couldn’t? What if you were about to get married or pregnant? What if you were about to emigrate? If you were not planning changes in 2020, then you can manage, but what if you were bang in the middle of something life changing? Now that’s some disruption to your life.

8. Students: Final exams got cancelled. Entrance exams got cancelled. Admissions have got postponed. For students it could have not have come at a worse time towards the end of the academic year. As it is there is enough pressure on the students of today and now add uncertainty to the mix.

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