Life after Lockdown – Measures to be followed

Have you ever thought How your lives are going to change after the extended lockdown ends? Do you think you can still hang out with your peers the way you used to? Can you again sneak out of your classes and go to a movie? Can you ever shake hands with a stranger without thinking twice? What about the crime of coughing and sneezing at public places? Self Quarantine if you feel feverish to skip getting caught in thermal screenings? Compelled to sanitize/wash hands every 20 seconds when you are out in public spaces? What about the frustration when people doesn’t follow social Distancing? Well, we should all be prepared for a period of frayed temper, paranoia, and zealous policing of public behaviour.

Transformation After Lockdown

Travel & Transport

Public transport in the worst-affected states will have take measures of social Distancing. Indian railway is considering measures as leaving the middle berth in three-tier compartments empty, stopping pantry services and passengers required to bring their bedding. The busiest international airports have already expressed arrangements of maintaining strict distances of up to two metres between passengers. For months or even possibly year people might forego the travel plans, especially to the containment areas or tourist destinations, where there have been lots of infections. The people who choose to travel after this lift of these restrictions will be treated with increased suspicion.

Weddings / Social Gatherings

A big fat Indian wedding will have to be reconsidered at least till the vaccines are out. The social gatherings will have to sacrifice their scale to intimacy. Parties will be replaced with extended family lunch or dinner with near and dear.

Office

Flexibility will define the culture post coronavirus, including the office culture. This privilege will become widespread with work from home, video over in-person for interactions and meetings. Setting up hand sanitizer stations and making face masks compulsory are some of the measures the office takes.

Education

Until this pandemic subsides Inside will be the new Outside. Wearing a mask (whether its store-bought or homemade) is the New Normal. Education is an excellent example of digitalization, as primary and secondary schools around the world shut their doors and move online. E-learning platforms like Cosmic Skills have seen growth during the lockdown. Even after restrictions are lifted, people will adhere to this new method of learning, as it is user-friendly and hassle-free. Preparations for exams are currently suspended too. Though their schools, colleges and tuitions have shut down, it is easier for students who can go online and continue with their preparations.

Cosmic Skills, a website that offers Online Courses and Internships to students, has seen an exponential rise in registrations. Right now is an excellent time to reevaluate old ways and look for the new ones. Online learning is a great opportunity, especially for students who come from smaller towns. It appears inarguable that online education, at every level from primary to tertiary, is going to grow in prominence. E-Learning will be the new normal.

Public Spaces

However, at some point, everyone had to step out for groceries during the lockdown. As stores restrict the numbers of customers allowed in at once, we wait in long queues, stood in the circles marked to distance customers from each other appropriately. This will continue at least until a reliable vaccine is widely available. Social Distancing will represent the new normal. Vacating public spaces, giving up convivial pleasures such as walk in the park, a meal in a restaurant, the movie in multiplex, or shopping at malls. We are, for now, a species in retreat, hiding from the predatory COVID-19 in our technology-enabled shells.