COVID-19 Just a Health Crisis or More?

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused large-scale loss of life and relentless human suffering. The pandemic has not just astonished epidemiologists but democracies as well. 84 countries have declared a state of emergency since the pandemic began: a gateway to autocracy, according to COVID-19 State of Emergency Data by the UN’s Centre for Civil and Political Rights. It is a public health crisis without precedent in living memory, which is testing our collective capacity to reply. Media is so occupied by the public health and economic consequences of COVID-19 that they have failed to pay enough attention to growing governmental and institutional risks. In fact, if we aren't careful, the most important casualty of COVID-19 might be a democracy.

Rigorous yet essential measures being applied to contain the virus, are pushing us into an unprecedented “deep freeze” state, from which emergence will not be straightforward or automatic. The foremost priority is to lessen the loss of life and health. But the pandemic has also set in motion other major crisis that will burden our societies for years to come.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON EDUCATION 

The pandemic has expanded inequalities like never before. The Pandemic has left a critical impact on children’s education, particularly of those from marginalised sections. Besides the disruption in the school year, there is a risk that prolonged out-of-school learning may lead to the withdrawal of children from the school systems. Disruptions in the continuity of schooling for girls and children of those who migrated back from urban to rural areas after losing livelihoods, post the sudden imposition of the lockdown.

The big changes to education in the COVID-19 is digital and online education which is a concern that will have a huge impact on children coming from vulnerable sections. National Sample Survey Office 2014-2015 data clearly shows economic factors as key to children dropping out of school. 14 lakh migrant workers, as well as others working in the unorganised sector, are impacted due to the pandemic. In such a situation, blatant emphasis on technology-driven education will exclude many children in this country from continuing school education. In India internet penetration is 36 per cent, internet users per 100 stand at 78, fixed broadband subscription per 100 stands at 1.34, and 46 per cent of households have televisions. In short, there are many challenges connected with the accessibility of education owing to the existing digital divide. Also, what's the need to get into facts and figures when you can just look around yourself? See around you how many of your friends, colleagues etc are having proper internet connectivity at their native place? If you often go outside your homes just to get a proper network you know what we are here talking about.

LIVELIHOOD AMID PANDEMIC

In the history of mankind, protection of life and livelihood has always been the primary objectives of the society and the state. Livelihood is at the core of life. Indian Constitution also specifies livelihood as an essential part of life. Lockdown has physically disrupted economic activities and prevented people from earning their livelihood. IMF predicts, at the end of the pandemic 500 million people are likely to be pushed below the poverty line. Globally the loss is estimated to be around $ 9 Trillion. India loses Rs 35,000 crore per day of lockdown. On a rough estimate, 120 million people in India have temporarily lost their jobs. Unorganized informal sectors have been hard hit with 65 million in construction; 50 million in travel, tourism and hospitality; 47 million in retail; 70 lakh in food processing and 15 lakh in e-commerce, etc.

The need of the hour is a collective action by government, industry, trade bodies and civil society to protect livelihood as is being done in protecting life. An actual standard for measuring the success of a state in the management of COVID-19 should not only be limited to protecting life but also to protecting livelihood as life and livelihood are the two sides of the same coin. If you or the head of your family is receiving a salary or earning revenue through business these days then you're lucky mate because out in the world people are losing their jobs, are not getting paid, are not able to run their business, are running out of their savings which they saved for their children's education or marriage or some kinda health treatment by spending it on just buying necessary goods of daily use and maybe your education fees.

MIGRANT LABOUR CRISIS AND THE ROAD AHEAD 

Lockdown restrictions putting a stop to conveyance forced thousands of empty-handed migrant workers without any work and resources to walk or cycle a thousand kilometres to travel back to their native villages. Many of them were arrested for violating the lockdown, after being caught at inter-state borders, forests between states and even on boats to cross rivers. Some of the migrants died of exhaustion. According to reports  378 people died since the lockdown was imposed due to reasons other than COVID-19. Among them, 69 people died in rail or road accidents while walking to their homes.

Migrant workers who chose to stay back during the exodus faced assault from their neighbours, who accused them of being contaminated with the coronavirus. Many also faced police brutality if they tried to go out of their homes. Upon their return to their hometowns, they were treated with either fear or a "class prejudice", being hosed down with disinfectants or soap solution in some cases. They were feared to be bringing coronavirus from the urban areas where they had been employed.  You might be offended by being called as a classist but ask yourself, Do you have separate utensils for your maid? Does your society have a separate elevator for the maids, sweepers, etc? Do you ever object at this prejudice? If no, then you qualify for being called as a classist.

MENTAL HEALTH AND LOCKDOWN

The Coronavirus pandemic stirred death and destruction globally. Not to forget the emotional and mental destruction Covid-19 has caused to millions of people, especially those living with an anxiety disorder. After the Covid-19 outbreak, during lockdown 1.0 itself, the Indian Psychiatric Society reported that mental health concerns have increased by an alarming 20%, with an unprecedented rise in psycho-social concerns. Our mental health infrastructure is as it is woefully incompetent. We have 1 psychiatrist for every 3 lakh people, 1 psychologist per 15,000 people and only 26,000 hospital bed. In the lockdown, providing mental health care has become a logistical nightmare.

 A lot of people brush it off saying “anxiety” is nothing but just a “phase” or “overthinking”. As a consequence, many people continue to suffer silently without any help in even normal times then how do we expect one to explain the pain, misery, uncertainty, fear or feeling of helplessness and hopelessness that one is going through in these testing times? 

GENDER INEQUALITY 

Life during the coronavirus lockdown has reinforced gender inequality across the world with research emphasising that the economic and social consequences of the crisis are far greater for women and threaten to push them back to traditional roles within the home which they're going to struggle to shake off once it's over. The nature of gender inequality at homes is cyclical, which suggests only young girls are taught household tasks. This has become a medium for their exploitation – both physically and mentally – after their marriage.

After the lockdown came into effect around the world and families have been spending more time together, growth in reports of domestic violence has been observed. Sadly, the National Commission for Women has recorded a 100% rise in domestic violence cases across the country. However, a Minister of the Central government has denied the claims also it should be noted that this denial of claims came amid when Justice NV Ramana, the second-most senior judge in the Supreme Court, noted that the pandemic "affected rights of women, children, and senior citizens".

The mounting data of violence at homes categorically suggests that as families spend a long time together, gender inequality has become more obvious. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one out of three women in the world experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, making domestic violence “the most far-reaching but least reported human rights abuse”. Indeed, this is an unusual time. However, the condition of women and girls locked in their homes isn't unusual.

CONCLUSION 

Firstly, what governments should learn from the Covid-19 pandemic is to focus more on healthcare. Health care should become a political issue on which elections are contested because only then political accountability can be set for those in power to make the healthcare systems reliable. Sanitation and hygiene also must become core political and electoral issues. And access to clean water and soap should also become a part of Swachh Bharat Mission. Secondly, the government should redefine its duties towards its citizens, increasing its role to include universal social welfare for all citizens. Thirdly, more importance should be given to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), states should register farm and small enterprises and assure that they start to receive funds to re-start their farms and the businesses that shut down due to loss and debt due after the lockdown was imposed. Strategies should develop to create entry-level, mid-level and low-end jobs in large numbers, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas to ensure employment for the large number of youth sitting idle at their homes without any work. The intergovernmental relationship should be improved a bit more because a collective response is stronger than an individual response is it a pandemic or while policymaking and various instances like that of the migrant crisis showed us that there's room for improvement in the intergovernmental relationship. Speaking of post-COVID education government needs to cater to the evolved demand and supply trends in the education sector. School education needs strengthening the capacity of the teachers towards digital mode and mechanisms of teaching and in case of higher learning, the standards of online education need to be raised.