Life in the Times of Corona: Lockdown & Livelihood in the Lurch

Anand Vihar Bus Terminal, New Delhi, March 28, 2020. Credit: IMPRIBy Dr. Balwant Singh Mehta, Dr. Simi Mehta and Dr. Arjun KumarNEW DELHI, Mar 30 2020 (IPS) The worldwide spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is severely affecting the global economy and as per the recent updates almost one-third to half of the global population are now under some form of a lockdown. This has threatened an economic bloodbath, where practically all economic activities around the world are witnessing a closure. According to the International Labour Organization, nearly 25 million jobs could be lost worldwide due to the pandemic and would mean income losses for workers between USD 860 billion and USD 3.4 trillion by the end of 2020. This will translate into fall in consumption of goods and services, impacting the businesses and in turn viciously affecting the national economies. Among other continents, Asia would witness disruptions in backward and forward linkages in supply chains. Significant providers of employment like manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, travel, services and the retail industries along with small and medium enterprises, have already begun to bear the acute brunt of COVID-19. Choosing between Human Health and Economic Health Though India’s number of reported coronavirus infections remains relatively low (around 800, as of March 27, 2020) vis-à-vis other countries, it is feared that the pace of spread of the virus in India similar to that of China, Europe or ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Headlines Health Human Rights TerraViva United Nations OPINION/NGO Source Type: news