It will be unwise to oppose a lockdown as we cannot compare the loss of economy to the loss of a loved one’s life. Nevertheless, all policies, consequential by nature deserve to be analyzed and assessed for better decision making to improve quality of life.
The business that prospers during lockdown
- Online delivery service providers –
- On one hand, they are flooded with service seekers who don’t mind paying 3 times more to have essentials and medical goods delivered at their doorstep.
- But when you assess the risk involved in complete reliance on these services and the delivery persons, it’s equally more.
- Hospitals, Medical stores, and Diagnostic health centers
- The hospitals are running full capacity, medical stores and diagnostic centers have a long queue waiting at their doorstep, while they are making more money than anybody, we should know that these are the people who are directly in the eye of the storm, they literally risk their lives while dealing with the pandemic hit population.
- The drug companies have grown bigger and profited during the pandemic.
- Essentials suppliers
- Grocery markets, vegetable and fruit vendors have had steady business through the lockdown. The supply chain has been hit due to inevitable and unforeseen incidents and has led to escalated prices.
- The consumer is the one who has been hit hard by the pandemic lockdown that has led to the loss of jobs, loss of life, loss of loved ones, and a lot more, the values of which cannot be measured.
The government’s role during a pandemic is to ensure that they look at potential outcomes that slow down the negative impact it has on the economic and mental wellbeing of its citizens by taking the following measures.
- The health ministry needs to focus on increasing the budget to build more hospitals, testing centers and encourage the growth and sustainability of pharmaceutical companies.
- Special care centres, hospitals for the senior citizens ailing with age-related problems and diseases.
- Children’s hospitals should be built in every city of the state.
- Large ventilated markets should become a priority.
- Increasing testing centres with reduced wait time for results.
- Making Mask compulsory and by providing free masks through vending machines in public spaces.
- Ensuring that there is no shortage of essential supplies that lead to panic buys, illegal stocking of supplies that invariably lead to black-market supplies.
- Increasing Vaccination drives across the country.
