Business Ethics

Assignment Topic: Impact of Coronavirus Lockdown In

India

Submitted To- Kavita Verma

Submitted By- Rajat Krishna(11609876)
What is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered
coronavirus.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory
illness and recover without requiring special treatment.  Older people, and those with
underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory
disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.

At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, there are
many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments.

How Does It Spread

Coronavirus disease spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they
cough or sneeze. It also spreads when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus
on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.

Symptoms

The COVID-19 virus affects different people in different ways.  COVID-19 is a respiratory
disease and most infected people will develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover
without requiring special treatment.  People who have underlying medical conditions and
those over 60 years old have a higher risk of developing severe disease and death.

Common symptoms include:

 fever

 tiredness

 dry cough.

Other symptoms include:

 shortness of breath

 aches and pains

 sore throat

 and very few people will report diarrhoea, nausea or a runny nose.
Preventions

To prevent infection and to slow transmission of COVID-19, do the following:

 Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or clean them with alcohol-based
hand rub.

 Maintain at least 1 metre distance between you and people coughing or sneezing.

 Avoid touching your face.

 Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

 Stay home if you feel unwell.

 Refrain from smoking and other activities that weaken the lungs.

 Practice physical distancing by avoiding unnecessary travel and staying away from
large groups of people.

COVID-19 cases in Indian states April 2020 by type

The capital city of Delhi overtook Maharashtra in terms of the number of confirmed
coronavirus (COVID-19) cases as of April 5, 2020. Delhi reported 503 cases that day, while
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu trailed close behind at 490 and 485 cases respectively. This
resulted in a total of 3,577 confirmed infections across India. The country went into
lockdown on March 25, making it the largest lockdown in the world, restricting 1.3 billion
people.

India Lockdown

The lockdown restricts people from stepping out of their homes. All transport services – road,
air and rail were suspended with exceptions for transportation of essential goods, fire, police
and emergency services. Educational institutions, industrial establishments and hospitality
services were also suspended. Services such as food shops, banks and ATMs, petrol pumps,
other essentials and their manufacturing are exempted. 

Impact

Food delivery services were banned by several state governments despite central
government's approval. Thousands of people emigrated out of major Indian cities, as they
became jobless after the lockdown. Following the lockdown, India's electricity demand fell
down to a five-month low on 28 March.

Migrant workers

An estimated 139 million migrant workers from the countryside work in India's cities and
towns. With factories and workplaces shut down, they were left with no livelihood. In the
first few days of the lockdown, television screens captured long processions of migrant
workers walking miles to go back to their native villages, often with families and young
children on shoulders. Two days later, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to arrange
buses at Delhi's Anand Vihar bus station to take the migrants back to their villages. Large
crowds gathered at the bus station awaiting buses. The central government issued a press
statement stating that it had asked state governments to set up immediate relief camps for the
migrant workers returning to their native states. On 29 March, the government issued
sweeping orders directing that the landlords should not demand rent during the period of the
lockdown and that employers should pay wages without deduction. The people that violated
the lockdown were to be sent to government-run quarantine facilities for 14
days. The Supreme Court of India agreed to hear a petition on behalf of the migrant workers
on 30 March

Food supply chain

The order issued by the Home Ministry on 24 March allowed the functioning of shops
dealing with food items as well as the manufacturing units and transportation of "essential
goods". However, the lack of clarity on "essential goods" meant that the policemen on the
streets stopped workers going to factories and the trucks carrying food items. Food industries
also faced shortages of labour because the workers were unable to reach workplaces and the
factory managers faced the fear of legal action. All these factors combined to result in
shortages and a raise in the prices of food items.

CHANDIGARH

Panic-buying in Chandigarh has resulted in a shortage or erratic supply of essential items.

Two items -- branded wheat flour and milk powder - are not available in markets. People
indulged in hoarding and stocked groceries in huge quantities. People are going to flour mills
directly. Distributors of two leading flour brands have stopped taking orders as the supply
chain has been broken.
Though unbranded flour is available, it is being sold at higher prices. The 10 kg flour bag
which was available at Rs 250 is being sold between Rs 350 and Rs 400.

People complained that there was black marketing of wheat flour and shop owners were
charging outrageous prices.

The lockdown and curfew have also hit wheat and grain supplies. The special MP wheat is
missing from the market and people are compelled to visit flour mills. Some retailers said
they were getting reduced supplies of bread as there was a short supply of wheat flour.

Unethical Practices

Coronavirus India Lockdown: Across India, there have been reports of grocery, medicine and
food delivery agents being abused and assaulted by policemen.Police brutality and social
stigma making life difficult for those on the front lines of the lockdown.

In the days following India’s 21-day lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus
pandemic in the country, citizens witnessed the dark side of the move from police brutality to
social stigma.

Healthcare workers being stopped, questioned and detained by the police has been especially
concerning for citizens and authorities alike.

Ambulance drivers have also faced issues during work urged Telangana Government to
ensure safe passage for ambulance drivers detailing an incident where four different
ambulance drivers were beaten up by the police in the streets of Hyderabad.

Apart from the police brutality, healthcare workers have also been facing social stigma
emerging from fear. Neighbours and nearby residents have heckled many medical
professionals, especially those working with Covid-19 patients, some even having to evict
their homes accusing them of spreading the virus.

An incident where a 30-year old Kolkata woman working with the National Institute of
Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) team which tests samples for coronavirus, was asked
to vacate her home in South Kolkata by her landlord.

For instance, two major airlines Indigo and Air India had reported harassment of their crew
members by neighbours amid the pandemic.
The Air India rescue crew who had flown to Wuhan had been ostracized and harassed by
neighbours leading to the airline releasing and an official statement requesting citizens to
treat the crew with respect.

In another instance, in a heart-wrenching video shared across social media platforms, an

IndiGo crew member detailed how she and her mother had been abused and harassed by her
neighbours who insisted that she had the coronavirus.

The economic impact

As social stigma prevails, on an economic front, movement of essential goods has been
furthered hindered, and supply chains hit as delivery personnel face the same fate as
healthcare workers. Complaints of delivery personnel and transportation workers for
‘essential goods’ facing police brutality across different parts of the country have poured in
across social media platforms urging the government to take necessary precautions.

There has been a lot of on-ground confusion despite government guidelines on supply and
movement of essential goods which has led to workers and delivery personnel straying away
from work.

The castaways

Another major issue that has come in light of the lockdown is the lack of preparedness when
it comes to the lower section of the society. As workers on the frontline are facing the brunt
of police brutality and social stigma, many sections of the society are merely struggling to
make ends meet.

Conclusion

I believe the Following Activities Stated above are unethical done by the Police authorities,
Food Suppliers And wholesalers, Essential Services provides and also the citizen who
misunderstood the cause and symptoms of Covid19.

Such Unethical practices should be discouraged by the Government. The citizens and
authorities must be made aware of the guideline of the Central Government and knowledge
about the virus must be enhanced. People should also not believe in the myths circulated on
social media platforms. For correct information on must follow the official website of World
Health Organisation (WHO) https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-
2019.