Topic: Effect of Lockdown Of COVID-19 And The Impact On People Living In Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionWhen the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck, countries employed diverse strategies in the control of the virus aimed at preventing, detecting, controlling and mitigating the impact of the pandemic. Initially, there was no known cure for this viral infection so this ‘stay-at-home’ necessitated the preventive measures to break the chain of transmission. This study aims to examine the different challenges people passed through as a result of this pandemic and the effect of the lockdown on people. This study will serve as the basis for future reference to know if this lockdown could be repeated in the face of another pandemic.MethodologyThe study was carried out in Enugu Metropolis, South East, Nigeria. This is a cross-sectional study among people living in Enugu State. Google forms were dispatched to adults from 18-65 years on social media or the internet. Data entry was to Excel, then to SPSS version 26 and analyzed with student’s t-test and Chi-square.ResultsFrom the study, 35% said there were financial losses, some complained of poor recreation, 52% of people said there was loss of learning opportunities for their children due to school shutdown 23% had a reduction in their income with 35% losing their job, 57.9% of people said the crime rate increased, 26.6% had a mental breakdown, 45.1% of people had relationship/spousal problems and 64.1% of people lost someone during the COVID-19 lockdown and There were also some benefits of the lockdown like 70% said there was reduction in RTA, air pollution, introduction to remote working popularly known as “working from home” and 32% of people claimed it caused family bonding. In all, 73% of people said they would not want or support a repeat lockdown.ConclusionThe impact of the lockdown on the residents of Enugu State was generally not a palatable experience. From this study, though some good things were achieved, it led to a number of irreversible crises. It also caused serious implications like a decline to access to healthcare, economic effects, political, social and cultural effects, educational impacts, an increase in crime rate, domestic violence, religious impact, and environmental effects. In future, a better method of approach is recommended.