The containment of the second wave of the pandemic COVID is proving to be an insurmountable task for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
One of the best ways to contain the spread of the virus is to restrict the movement of people and for this lockdown is the way.
The survival of economy of any location, be it a neighbourhood or the entire world, depends upon flow of money.
To illustrate, you work in an office and your employer pays you. You take that cash and pay your milkman; the milkman takes this and pays his feed supplier, and so on.
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This is how the world has always been except that the pandemic-necessitated lockdown halted this flux and the effects are leading to middle and lower classes worldwide gasping for air as their relatively meagre savings run dry and new cash is not being generated because there are no jobs or customers. Those who receive pay cut are still lucky.
Further, the humanitarian crisis that inevitably results for the migrant labourers is something we all want to avoid because we know the ordeals they went through in the first wave of COVID when nation-wide lockdown was imposed in 2020.
Now, these may be the reasons why Modi is resisting the nation-wide lockdown, but at the time of writing, India is de facto in such a situation.
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The Chief Ministers of states in India were requested to consider lockdown only as a last resort.
Well, COVID has been so aggressive in devouring our loved ones from us, taking away our livelihoods, decimating our dreams of a better life that the various state governments see no other option but to implement lockdown in their states.
The writing on the wall is clear – Indian leaders want lockdown to reduce the spread of COVID but they cannot afford halt in the economy and the resultant insecurity and exodus of migrant workforce.
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The result includes workarounds like weekend lockdowns i.e. Saturday and Sunday, disallowing non-essential people to earn their livelihoods without any government-support, while allowing essential and some other businesses to continue operating.
Also, some state government are experimenting with two-week long lockdowns, but the public may be expecting the same to be extended over and over again.
To get an idea of the predicament, India has suffered 4,172 deaths to COVID in the last 24 hours which are the highest since the beginning of COVID in India. Also, 2.18 crore individuals currently are infected with COVID.
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Now let us explore what the states of India currently stand at:
Tamil Nadu
The state witnessed its highest single-day spike of over 26,000 cases on Friday, and now the state is under lockdown from May 10 to May 24.
Karnataka
The state is adding over 45,000 new COVID patients each day, and similar to Tamil Nadu there will be a a lockdown from May 10 to May 24.
Kerala
The state recently had its highest number of COVID cases in a single day at 41,953, and now the state is under lockdown from May 8 to May 16.
Rajasthan
The state is under lockdown from May 10 to May 24.
Bihar
The state has been lockdown from May 4 to May 15
Delhi
The national capital has been in lockdown from April 19 to May 10.
Maharashtra
The state is under partial lockdown from April 5 to May 15.
Punjab
The state in under partial lockdown till May 15
Uttar Pradesh
The state is under lockdown till May 10.
Madhya Pradesh
The state is under lockdown till May 15.
Haryana
The state is under lockdown from May 3 to May 10.
Odisha
The state is under lockdown from May 5 to May 19.
Jharkhand
The state has been under partial lockdown from April 22 to May 5.
Chhattisgarh
The state has been under lockdown (after extension) till May 15.
Gujarat
No lockdown in the state, but nigh curfew in 29 cities and some other restrictions on movement and gathering at public places.
Goa
Recently, the state hit a state-record of more than 30,000 COVID infections in a single day, and now the state is in lockdown from May 9 to May 23.
Telangana
No lockdown in the state, but night curfew (after extension) till May 15.
Andhra Pradesh
The state has been in partial lockdown from May 6 to May 18.
West Bengal
The state is under partial lockdown indefinitely from April 30 onwards.
Assam
The state is in partial lockdown from May 5.
Puducherry
The state is under lockdown (after extension) till May 10.
Nagaland
The state is under partial lockdown from April 30 to May 14.
Mizoram
The state is in lockdown from May 10 to May 17.
Jammu and Kashmir
The state is in lockdown indefinitely.
Uttarakhand
The state is in partial-lockdown indefinitely.
Before we judge any government, we must appreciate that COVID’s second wave is a problem with no easy solution.
And we need to be prepared for the third wave too.
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Also, some of the blame lies with common women and men - you and I - as we have been hesitant, or defiant in following rules which are simple and for our own and greater good.
Many Indians consider it a show of strength to break COVID-appropriate behaviour. This writer asks if you expect the government to force you into wearing a mask or not going out unless there is a genuine requirement.
We are together in this fight.