Impact of Lock down due to COVID-19 Pandemic on General Public in Pakistan

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to explore the impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 from general public’s perspective. People all around the world are facing this unusual challenge of staying home with government’s orders and hence the effects of this lock down situation are still unknown from the point of view of a common man.

Methods: This study was a qualitative descriptive study conducted after two months of lockdown in April-May, 2020. A single question “how do lockdown due to COVID19 impact your life in last two months?” was asked on line from a sample of 114 people (73 males, 41 females) with an age ranged between 17 and 68.

Results: Their response transcripts verbatim were then analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Five themes emerged from the perspective and experiences of the participants comprising both, positive and negative aspects of the situation. These include stressors and uplifts in the domains of Change in life (world is on halt, no deadlines); Social/emotional (emotional setback, connected through network); Personal/psychological (sensitive, more reflective); Professional/economical (financial crises, doing online job); Spiritual (sad to see Haram(Holy Ka’aba) closed, closer to God) and Familial (confined at home, quality time with family increased).

Conclusions: To conclude, the unusual world situation has unexpected results. The uplifts expressed by people indicate that people have the ability to adapt even the worst situations. This ability model should be promoted and people should be taught to improve their skills.