Times of Quarantine: Looking at the silver lining

The threat posed by Coronavirus becomes graver with each passing day. Now a global crises,the virus has seen the fall of global economy as many businesses cripple and the rise in deaths on its account. Entire countries have gone under lock-down with millions of people practicing self-quarantine.

As the world prepares for the ordeal to be unleashed, there are a few benefits procuring from such times of quarantine. After what seems like ages, mother nature breathes a sigh of relief as reduced human activity allows it to replenish. Videos show how in Venice, clear and calm water flows as the city remains in lock-down. Schools of fish could be spotted in the once filthy canals as only essential boats are allowed. Dolphins were spotted in a nearly empty port of Cagliari in Italy and dolphins were also spotted along Marine Drive in Mumbai.

Carbon Dioxide emissions have reduced remarkably as lock-down ensures halting of industrial activities. Satellite images show how levels of Nitrogen Dioxide have lowered since last year in Europe and Asia in the wake of quarantine. The gas stems from the burning of fossil fuel for traffic and industry and its reduction comes as a good news for China as it has possibly saved many lives.

Apart from environmental benefits, quarantine comes as a positive news for virtual business houses. Streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime have recorded humongous traffic on account of quarantine. The streaming sites have also responded to consumer demand by adding new content. Adult sites full of pornographic content are providing their previously chargeable ‘premium’ content free of cost. In India, the Department of Telecommunication has also asked such streaming sites to manage traffic distribution patterns and heavy bandwidth consuming to ease strain on the network infrastructure.

Another industry that stands to derive benefit is the online gaming world. While online entertainment is a great relief, the interaction remains one-sided. On the other hand, online gaming provide a combination of entertainment as well as two-way interaction which accounts for its heavy usage.

In such trying times, its essential to spread positive energies and look at the glass as half full.