Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 24: With just eight days left for the second phase of countrywide lockdown to end, the big question which is looming over the minds of people is would lifting of lockdown end the COVID-19 threat.
An analyst while talking to Precious Kashmir said, “It looks difficult that lockdown will end in one go. Even if the government decides to lift the restrictions this will be done in a phased manner.”
Referring to the recent statement of World Health Organization Chief that the virus is there to stay and most of the countries are in an early stage of fighting the pandemic, the analyst said, “The alarm sounded by the WHO Chief is a warning that things won’t return to normal soon. At present the Union Health Ministry is claiming that doubling rate of COVID-19 patients has come down and situation is improving. But lot of time is needed to make things fall at place.”
He said, “Ending the lockdown in a phased manner after completion of 42-days will be a compulsion for the government as everything cannot remain shut forever. But a few experts have predicted that the COVID-19 in India will peak in mid of May. This prediction too cannot be brushed aside. Things are not as simple as they are appearing. It’s a complicated situation and finding a way out is a very difficult task.”
An observer said, “Life after lockdown ends is not going to be same. The outbreak of COVID-19 has changed the entire world. People will have no idea about how to go with their lives if the COVID-19 cure or vaccine is not found. If the lockdown is lifted without finding a cure it will make people feel insecure. China ended the restrictions in Wuhan after it succeeded in containing the virus and no fresh cases were reported.”
Recently a leading researcher from the United States claimed that the second wave of the COVID-19 could be more deadly. He expressed concern over the people getting re-infected after recovering. “The countries hit by COVID-19 have been caught between the devil and the deep sea. The countries which did not go into a lockdown mode soon after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out have been the worst sufferers. Causalities in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain have been high as these countries waited to close down everything,” the observer added.
He said, “Ending lockdown after May 3 in India will be a tough call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He would never want the gains of lockdown-1 and lockdown-II getting lost till the COVID-19 curve flattens.”
