Question

We are facing an unprecedented situation during the national lockdown due to
Corona virus pandemic. Write your experience of what happened around you
during this time, what measures were taken by the government and how the
people of the country acted in the face of such a problem. You are Avantika/
Aniket.

Answer 1

  Experience during Coronavirus pandemic.

                                         By Avantika

After the first case of COVID-19 in Italy was discovered on the 21st of February, schools and universities were shut down on March 5. On March 9, the government declared lockdown status in order to hinder the spread of the virus. In order to reduce contagion, citizens were required to stay home except for emergencies and primary needs. Over 8 million children and adolescents stopped their social and educational activities, which were reorganized online. On April 5, the last day of data collection for the present study, out of a global number of 1,133,758 (Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, 2020), 128,948 people had been infected by COVID-19 in Italy, of which 15,887 (about the 12.3%) had died (Italian Ministry of Health, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency that poses questions and dilemmas regarding the psychological well-being of people at varying levels.

We were advised through television and many platforms to prevent infection and to slow transmission of COVID-19, do the following:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or clean them with an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Maintain at least a 1-meter distance between you and people coughing or sneezing.
• Avoid touching your face.
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
• Stay home if you feel unwell.
• Refrain from smoking and other activities that weaken the lungs.
• Practice physical distancing by avoiding unnecessary travel and staying away from large groups of people.

Avoid the 3Cs: spaces that are closed, crowded, or involve close contact.

• Outbreaks have been reported in restaurants, choir practices, fitness classes, nightclubs, offices, and places of worship where people have gathered, often in crowded indoor settings where they talk loudly, shout, breathe heavily or sing.

• The risks of getting COVID-19 are higher in crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces where infected people spend long periods of time together in close proximity. These environments are where the virus appears to spread by respiratory droplets or aerosols more efficiently, so taking precautions is even more important.

• Meet people outside. Outdoor gatherings are safer than indoor ones, particularly if indoor spaces are small and without outdoor air coming in.

• For more information on how to hold events like family gatherings, children’s football games, and family occasions, read our Q&A on small public gatherings.

• Avoid crowded or indoor settings but if you can’t, then take precautions:

• Open a window. Increase the amount of ‘natural ventilation’ when indoors.

• WHO has published Q&As on ventilation and air conditioning for both the general public and people who manage public spaces and buildings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems, and the world of work. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year.  

Millions of enterprises face an existential threat. Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion global workforces are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality health care and have lost access to productive assets. Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many are unable to feed themselves and their families. For most, no income means no food, or, at best, less food and less nutritious food.  

The pandemic has been affecting the entire food system and has laid bare its fragility. Border closures, trade restrictions, and confinement measures have been preventing farmers from accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce, and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe, and diverse diets. The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill, and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit.  

Millions of agricultural workers – waged and self-employed – while feeding the world, regularly face high levels of working poverty, malnutrition, and poor health, and suffer from a lack of safety and labor protection as well as other types of abuse. With low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working, often in unsafe conditions, thus exposing themselves and their families to additional risks.