Impact Of Second Wave Of COVID-19 On Life And Livelihood In India

 People were still learning to cope with the aftereffects of the first wave of Coronavirus and lockdown of 2020. In the meantime, the second wave of COVID-19 changed the game and left everyone in shock. The unpredicted rise in active cases, death rates, and the ailing economy are causing discomfort universally.

Moksh Popli says that the overall impression will be moderate than last year’s damage. Supporting the expert’s opinion, he adds, that the range of financial losses during the second wave will depend on how early India will learn to break the chain of transmission, emphasize on vaccination and live with the Coronavirus restrictions.

This year’s lockdown rules are comparatively lenient than last year’s complete lockdown. This has ended in partial movements of economic activities under strict guidelines, corona curfew, weekend restrictions, partial lockdowns, etc. But the lockdown and curfews are destroying the retail and wholesale businesses strongly. We consider the partial movements of goods and industries that are allowing us to breathe and limit the losses, says Moksh Popli.

Needless to say, these situations are likely to slow down India’s economic recovery in the next few months. These lockdowns might help break the chain of transmission, but it is hitting the middle class on a big scale. As said by the Prime Minister, ‘national lockdown should be the last option’. Considering these lessons, the state governments imposed restrictions on gatherings, non-essential economic activities to restrict transmission.

He adds that as per the SBI report, India has crossed the phase of the peak in cases that were expected by mid-may, the active cases are decreasing and death rates are reducing as the precautions, testing and vaccination are in full swing. The vaccination drive that permitted people above 18+ would be a great relief to prevent the infections in the coming months and support India in handling the third wave if we will learn the lesson from today. The health system and facilities are comparatively weak than the other developed countries, but still India did well and still fighting.

Although we can foretell that the consequences of the second wave on the economy will not be harsh as last year, we can’t oversee the risks that crashed the economy. The sudden lockdowns in prominent cities have affected the salaried employees, laborers, small-scale industries and increased the unemployment rate in April. Whereas, the tourism, entertainment, and hospitality sectors have been jostled completely by these confinements.

All these circumstances are intensifying the probabilities of business agitations, substantial loss of life, and livelihood. This critical state needs revival and better alternatives to fight and save the economy from breaking down, says Moksh.

It is a fact, longer the second wave persists, the more drastic would be the results. Moksh Popli adds that the ongoing condition is pointing towards a clash between the pace of COVID-19 vaccination and the rate at which the COVID-19 new variants are transmitting. But in all these, we have to find positive factors and help humanity to survive and endure the losses.