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  Covid -19 originated from Wuhan, a city in China at the end of December 2019 andcontinued spreading to other countries since then resulting in the World Health Organizationdeclaring it a pandemic in March 2020.

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  Many people in the world got infected with the virus and a huge number succumbedto deaths resulting in a major concern by governments. This led to governments coming upwith stringent measures in order to curb the spread of the virus and protect its citizens. Theywent ahead and introduced a nationwide lockdown that restricted the movement of people indifferent countries. According to Sault (2020), the imposed lockdown is aimed at flatteningthe covid-19 infection curve. Meaning it is aimed at reducing the number of infection casesby forcing a mandatory social distancing between individuals.

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  Countries like New Zealand, France, Kenya, Italy, and Spain introduced acountrywide lockdown that aimed at controlling the rapid spread of the virus among theirpeople. A country like Italy had a nationwide lockdown that lasted for almost 6 weeks whichran from mid-March 2020 to mid–May 2020. Gualano et al (2020) state that the lockdownimposed on Italy impacted the mental health of a number of people in the country. Many fellinto depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, sleep disturbances, and anxiety among otherpsychological illnesses. Italy being the first country in Europe to go to a nationwidelockdown became a huge concern for the majority of the people.

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   Anxiety disorders were more prominent in females and older people as most of themwere afraid of moving out of their houses for the sole purpose of acquiring their basic day-today needs like going grocery shopping or even a simple activity like taking a walk outside.Depression came about as a result of little to no interaction on the part of individuals. TheItalians showed a generally high pervasiveness in mental health issues.

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  The lockdown forced students worldwide to study from home and access their classesonline. This proved to be quite a challenge in some countries especially developing nations.Countries like Kenya had to suspend school since most of its counties do not have developedinternet infrastructure thus many individuals from poverty-stricken areas do not have accessto the internet. Kathula (2020) affirms that the Kenyan government together with the Ministryof education introduced ways that the students could get basic education such as broadcastingon TV and FM stations for access to people in rural areas.

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   Ghose (2020) states that the forced lockdown has resulted in many people losing theirjobs in India as others were forced to work from home. India is quite known for very pooremployment conditions regardless of the country’s rapid economic growth. The Covid – 19lockdown has made the situation worse for its citizens. The cessation of movement hasaffected all kinds of industries particularly the transport industry as people can no longeroffer transportation services to and from different places in the country. The food and healthindustries continue to thrive despite the lockdown although the transportation of perishablegoods has proved to be difficult due to the travel bans. The lockdown imposed on India by itsPrime Minister was set to last for 21days restricting all its people.

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   Desai (2021) affirms that the lockdown imposed on France has resulted in a decline inthe country’s tourism industry by almost 41 percent. The tourism industry accounts for 8percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. It has created employment for millions ofindividuals including the hospitality and food industries. Therefore foreign tourists notcoming to the country means there are no employment opportunities for a huge number ofpeople depending on the tourism sector. However, it is expected to get back at its feet byfocusing on domestic tourism in the country.

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   Socrates (2021) cites that international trade restrictions in developing countries haveimpeded trade in that there has been an increase in taxes, trading costs, and border clearances.

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   This highly affects the supply of products especially perishable goods like fruits, foodproducts, and flowers. This leads to losses on the part of traders and a negative rapportbetween the traders and their customers is established. The lockdown has also created a highdemand for food and medicinal products as the majority are purchasing goods out of fear oflacking in case the situation becomes dire. In most developing countries the imports weremostly affected than the exports. In a situation whereby an industry is dependent on importedgoods then the particular industry suffers adverse losses.

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   The crime rates have reduced significantly since the lockdown was put in place invarious regions such as in England. According to Casciani et al (2021), this is because veryfew people are moving out of their homes into the streets thus robbery or pickpocketingincidences have reduced. However, there has been an increase in drug crime as many aredepressed and turn to drugs for comfort. There has also been a rise in the number of suicidecases due to the Covid -19 lockdown. Cases of domestic violence have had a surge as victimsof abuse are forced to stay at home with their abusers.

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   The reproduction of animals is greatly affected by human activities such as pollutionfrom industrial effluents. These cause air pollution and water pollution thus directly affectingthe animals. Manenti et al (2021) affirm that the chemicals present in the pollutants affect theanimals’ genetic makeup when consumed therefore altering their reproductive systems. Whenthe lockdown was introduced, it resulted in the shutting down of some industries and thereduction in production for some industries. This leads to a decrease in pollution and greathealth benefits to the said animals.

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   Airplanes, cars, and industries have caused so much carbon emissions to theenvironment lowering the quality of air that we breathe. Bartley (2020) suggests that thecoronavirus crisis has brought about a safer world as it is much less polluted by humanactivities. Although the virus has resulted in thousands of deaths globally, it has also improved the environmental situation slightly and individuals should aim at keeping theenvironment safer for everyone else including all living creatures. It is therefore thegovernment’s role to come up with measures that will keep the environment safe even whenthe pandemic is over and done with.

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   Despite the Covid – 19 lockdown affecting peoples’ financial status, mental andphysical health, the economy at large, and education, it has proved to reduce the number ofinfections thus lowering the number of Covid -19 infected individuals. This stringent measureput in place by governments has proved to have the safety of the citizens as a priority.

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   References

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Casciani, D., & Butcher, B. (2021). Covid: What’s happened to the crime during thepandemic? Retrieved 7 May 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/56463680.

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Desai, S. (2021). Pandemic leaves tourism in France down by 40%. Retrieved 7 May 2021,from https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/pandemic-leaves-tourism-in-france-down-by40-/2103560.

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Ghose, A. (2020). The Pandemic, Lockdown, and Employment. Retrieved 7 May 2021, fromhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41027-020-00258-x.

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Gualano, M., Siliqini, R., Bert, F., Voglino, G., & Lo Moro, G. (2020). Effects of Covid-19Lockdown on Mental Health and Sleep Disturbances in Italy. Retrieved 7 May 2021,from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4779/pdf.

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Kathula, D. (2020). Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Education System in Kenya.Retrieved 7 May 2021, fromhttps://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/CGD_COVID_education_policy_tracking10-25-20.xlsx.

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Manenti, R., Mori, E., Di Canio, V., Mercurio, S., Picone, M., & Caffi, M. et al. (2021). Thegood, the bad and the ugly of COVID-19 lockdown effects on wildlife conservation:Insights from the first European locked down the country. Retrieved 7 May 2021,from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

pmc/articles/PMC7441970/.

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Bartley, J. (2021).Coronavirus: Environmental destruction 'paused' by lockdown measures. Retrieved 7May 2021, from https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-enviromental-destuctionpaused-by-lockdown-measures-11982992.

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Sault, S. (2020). Why lockdowns can halt the spread of COVID-19. Retrieved 7 May 2021,from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/why-lockdowns-work-epidemicscoronavirus-covid19/.

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Socrates, M. (2021). The Effect of Lockdown Policies on International Trade Flows fromDeveloping Countries: Event Study Evidence from Kenya. Retrieved 7 May 2021,from https://www.wto.org/english/

news_e/news20_e/rese_15dec20_e.pdf