The upsides and downsides of COVID-19 lockdown

While lockdown is necessary to curtail the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, it can have a long-lasting negative impact on the health of the people. Let's look at some of the benefits and side effects of COVID-19-lockdowns.

Countries around the world are implementing various measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed over 1,60, 000 people worldwide (as per the latest WHO data). India is one of the countries that have implemented the world's largest and most restrictive mass quarantines. Others include China, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, and the UK.

India first imposed 21-day nationwide lockdown starting March 25. The lockdown, which was to end on April 14, was then extended for another two weeks (until May 3), considering the growing number of infection cases. But how far lockdown measures have been successful in curbing the pandemic? Why it became necessary? What could be the fallouts of lockdown? These are some questions lingering in the minds of many people while they remain stuck at home amidst the pandemic. So, let's first begin with the benefits of lockdown -

Reduction in COVID-19 cases

COVID-19 is more infectious than other coronaviruses such as SARS or MERS-CoV, but less deadly than these previous epidemics. The risk of dying from the new coronavirus is just about 4.4%, as compared to SARS (10%) or MERS-CoV (34%). Unfortunately, being less deadly is the main reason why the COVID-19 outbreak spread across the world and turned into a pandemic. Studies show that majority of the people infected with the novel coronavirus are either asymptomatic (showing no symptoms) or have very mild symptoms. This means asymptomatic patients have been spreading the virus unaware that they were even infected. Here comes the importance of lockdown and social distancing to reduce infections and slow the pandemic.

If a person infected with COVID-19 doesn't follow lockdown and social-distancing norms, he can possibly infect 406 others in just 30 days. But this can dramatically come down to 2.5 people with a 75% reduction in social exposure, according to a recent study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Therefore, imposition of lockdown and social distancing measures is a very important intervention in the management of COVID-19, said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry.

We also couldn't agree more when Union health minister Harsh Vardhan stated that "social distancing is social vaccine" in managing the infection of COVID-19. As there is no treatment or a vaccine for the disease yet, restricting most human contact is the only way to stop the spread of the virus.

Environmental benefits

COVID-19 lockdowns have led to fewer vehicles on the road and planes in the sky, resulting in cleaner environment around the world. The reduction of the human impact on the environment is showing amazing improvement in the pollution level. Climate scientists have found a huge improvement in air quality across the globe. There have been reports about the canals in Venice becoming clearer and the city smog getting lifted in China.

In Europe, new data has shown huge reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations over several major tourist spots across the continent, including Paris, Madrid and Rome. Nitrogen dioxide is a by-product of burning fossil fuels and it can cause respiratory problems.

Satellite images shared by European Space Agency and NASA have also revealed a significant drop in nitrogen dioxide concentrations across Europe and China.

China's capital Beijing is known for its lung-choking levels of pollution, which reportedly leads to an estimated one million people dying in the country each year. Thanks to the lockdown, the city is now seeing blue skies. Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak, is a major industrial hub. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city had a hazardous air-pollution level, which has now come down by 21.5 per cent, according to data revealed by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

In New York, researchers have registered a 50 per cent decline in carbon monoxide levels, which is caused due to car emissions.

Climate scientists also predict that greenhouse gas emissions will drop significantly this year because of COVID-19 lockdowns. However, they are also worried that the pollution levels will return with a vengeance once things restore to normal.

Downsides to COVID-19 lockdown

Experts around the world are worried that the lockdowns will end up causing more harm than coronavirus itself.

The sudden clampdown has left millions of migrant workers stranded in foreign lands, and many are struggling to survive without a job. Thousands of labourers were left jobless overnight in India. With little money and no place to stay, many walked or cycled hundreds of kilometres to reach their homeland.

Cases of domestic violence have also increased post the lockdown in India. It is reported that the National Commission for Women registered a total of 257 complaints including 69 domestic violence complaints by the women in one week (from March 23 to April 2). This number is almost double the complaints of domestic abuse the Commission received earlier in the month of March before the lockdown.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has said that the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown will have a long-lasting impact on the health of the nation. In a review paper published in the latest issue of Indian Journal of Medical Research, ICMR has described lockdowns as a "drastic public health measure".

"Such drastic measures can lead to social, psychological and economic stressors on the whole population, leading to long-lasting adverse health outcomes," said lead author Dr Pranab Chatterjee, translational global health policy research cell-ICMR, in the paper.

The psychological impact of lockdown

Besides the many day-to-day challenges, the lockdown is taking a serous toll on the mental health of people. Restrictions on social interaction, inactive lifestyle, financial uncertainty, plus the fear triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic- all of these are causing tremendous psychological distress among people.

According to mental health experts, many people are now suffering from anxiety, frustration, panic attacks, loss or sudden increase of appetite, insomnia, depression, mood swings, delusions, fear and suicidal tendencies. Lockdown has also worsened the condition of people who are already suffering from psychological ailments and those suffering from substance abuse.

There has been a massive spike in patients with mental illness since the coronavirus outbreak in the country. A recent survey conducted by the Indian Psychiatry Society reported 20% increase in patients with mental illness since coronavirus outbreak. The survey noted that at least one out of every five Indians is suffering from mental illness.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is likely the main cause of the increase in people will mental disorders, the lockdown is also contributing to it by triggering fears of losing businesses, jobs, earnings, savings or even basic resources.

Experts are more worried that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be a fallout of this crisis. PTSD was also the most common psychiatric disorder to arise after the SARS outbreak. Some studies have already found the prevalence of acute post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among COVID-19 survivors. Researchers have warned that PTSS may affect a larger percentage of the population in countries without prior exposure to serious epidemics.

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