The positives of lockdown
- By Ebony Bailey
The Uk lockdown has been an emotional journey for most of the nation. With some looking on the positive side of life is more relaxing. Others finding life at home to be strenuous and irritating.
The Coronavirus spread rapidly throughout the world from the ninth of January 2021 when it was identified in Wuhan, China. The world quickly went into a state of emergency by locking down its borders and its citizens. The UK was one of the last places to fully close its borders and lock the country down even though the rates of coronavirus increased rapidly. However, when this was done the country waited in anticipation for the return of normality.
Throughout lockdown, the government put in place online help and telephone help for anyone struggling. This also included at-home workouts that can be followed for free. This encouraged individuals to keep a positive mindset by remembering that they weren’t alone in this pandemic.
With everyone staying at home the C02 emissions that were previously harming the environment reduced dramatically, the air became cleaner and the earth took a well-needed rest from the hustle and bustle of transport. So going back to normality is proving to be healthier than it previously was due to all the clean air.
Parents and children have spent much more time with each other throughout the lockdown than ever before. Increasing the parent to child attachment bonds in many cases as families get to know each other more than they may have if the lockdown had not of happened. Babies being especially prone to this as their prime contact (their parents) being their only contact.
Clapping for the NHS soon became a way to get to know your neighbours and pay your respects to our frontline heroes from the safety of your home. Every Thursday at eight pm residents got to see familiar faces of people that they may have never known if it wasn’t for this lockdown tradition. Bringing people together in unexpected ways is one way the lockdown began to feel beneficial. Having to stay at home, kept infection rates low and the BioNTech, Fosun Pharma, Pfizer vaccine is in the process of being distributed quickly whilst people are at home.
The furlough scheme helped people Tay afloat during these hard times, this also meant the time off work many individuals in the hospitality and retail sectors received helped reduce the stress work brings to your everyday life. This was a chance for everyone to take a breather from the ‘rat race’ and spend time enjoying hobbies and/or learning new skills — such as cooking. The restaurants being closed influenced the British public to dust their cooking books off and get their aprons on. More homemade food (which is mostly a lot healthier than a takeaway) was made and consumed meaning an overall healthier lifestyle.
It seems that although struck with a pandemic, the UK has found many different ways to make lockdown benefit them in positive ways and the lockdown had good impacts on the public.
