As we all know that almost the entire world is now is in the grip of pandemic Covid-19, with close to half a million people effected with the deadly virus and over 16,000 already lost their lives worldwide till the time of writing this article. This is an unprecedented situation for all, whether it’s the common man or the government of any country. In its strike, the contagious virus is making no difference between the countries or the people and if you are not doing what you are likely to do in these extraordinary circumstances, than you are putting your own life and the lives of others at risk.

We in New Zealand are now in level 4 or the highest alert stage where all the regular activities and businesses have been ordered to shut down except the essential services like hospitals, supermarkets, gas stations or all emergency services. This is an unprecedented situation for everyone in New Zealand also, as so far for last few weeks we were only watching the other countries passing through these trouble times. Now, since the reality has knocked our doors as well, so we have no choice except for dealing with it in the appropriate manner. New Zealand’s Prime Minister has also appealed to the people to not to get panicked in this situation and to maintain order. For last almost two weeks, people in New Zealand started hording household stuff like groceries, toilet papers and even sanitisers. Despite the repeated assurances given by the government or the supermarkets that there is plenty of stock available of everything we need, there is still no change in people’s behaviour. People are queuing up in hundreds in front of supermarkets and grocery shops and are shopping in bulk. Most supermarkets now have enforced the limit of number of items the customers can buy, to control the situation.

Since the announcement by the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday afternoon that we are heading for threat level of 4 and eventually in a lockdown for four weeks, the nation seems to have reached to a standstill. People were given almost two full days’ time to sort out the last minutes arrangements before going in for closure. Prime Minister categorically and very firmly said that these extreme measures were necessary to save the lives of thousands of New Zealanders who are the risk of the deadly virus spread. Sitting here in New Zealand, we can only imagine the scale and the magnitude of this pandemic in country like India which has a population of over 1.3 billion. We must applaud the Modi government for taking some timely measures to contain Covid-19, which could have been catastrophic, in a country geographically so difficult and diverse like India. Some people are still sceptical about the preparedness of the Indian government and believe that the catastrophe is inevitable with over a million confirmed cases projected by end of May and over 30,000 deaths. Even if all the tough measures may help in saving lives of thousands but the financial catastrophe that will follow due to these measures, is going to hit hard. We should not be surprised if we soon hear announcement of Financial Emergency in India.

These are extraordinary testing time for everyone and we all should take all due safety measures to keep ourselves, our families and our communities safe from this pandemic. In the hindsight, this lockdown is offering us all an opportunity to do things which we otherwise are not able to do in our day to day life. Try spending quality time with your family, do the activities you like to do, exercise or go for a walk, look after your garden or help your spouse in the kitchen. So please enjoy this nature’s forced holiday time. Maintain the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness and stay safe also take a good care of yourself and your loved ones.