DNA Explainer: Why there will be NO 'Lockdown' again?

India is facing a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases. The condition of some of the states in particular is worrisome. One such state is Maharashtra, where full lockdown has been imposed on weekends and fresh restrictions to last through April.

However, the bigger question arises is that whether a nationwide lockdown will be imposed throughout the country and is lockdown the ultimate solution to the problem? We understand that nationwide lockdown is quite critical. Recently AIIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said that people across the country need to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, and the crowd needs to be decreased for a few more months. 

Going by what happened the last year, lockdown seems a far-fetched idea. However, the government will keep it as a last resort to curbing the spread of the virus. The government has made it clear that the focus is now on 'test-track-treat' protocol, not shutting down establishments.

In a major development last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released a fresh set of guidelines for the month of April, asking states to enhance the proportion of RT-PCR tests, strictly enforce the 'test-track-treat' protocol, and speed up the pace of COVID-19 vaccination to cover all priority groups.

The fresh guidelines issued by the MHA are effective from April 1 till April 30.

Pointers on why no lockdown

Instead of an immediate lockdown, the government and experts feel strict regulations can control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The government does not want any chaos and anarchy or unnecessary panic among the people. Last year due to the sudden nationwide lockdown, there was a lot of confusion among the people and misunderstandings that led to the migrant labour crisis.

Last year the pandemic was new to the world. No one knew about the novel coronavirus and its behaviour. However, this year we are better equipped against the virus. Scientists across the world have come out with various COVID-19 vaccines and the government is planning to increase the speed of the vaccination drive. And this can be very helpful in containing the virus. 

This year the surge in COVID-19 cases is seen in particularly a few states. Lockdown can be an option at district/sub-district and city/ward level, with a view to curb the spread of the deadly virus, based on the assessment of the situation, the government has said. The experts are also of the opinion that adding state-level restrictions will help in containing the virus and hence there will be no need to impose a nationwide lockdown. 

The pandemic was new to everyone last year. This year people are more aware of the condition and hence they are taking more precautions at their level. If everyone follows the COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, then it will be easy to curb the spread of the virus.

Main focus

The main focus of the new protocols is to consolidate the substantial gains achieved in containing the spread of the virus, which was visible in the sustained decline in the number of active cases, continuously for about five months as per the government.

The first wave of the pandemic peaked in India in September last year, when the active caseload crossed a million-mark. It continued to decline for about months touching a low of about 11,000 on February 11, 2021.