Many countries in the Asian region are already combating or are facing a second wave of the Coronavirus. China, Vietnam and Australia have put certain regions under lockdown once again to manage spikes of new cases. Hong Kong is expected to announce a ban on dining in restaurants and a mandate on wearing facial masks, sometime early next week. It would be the first time Hong Kong puts a ban on restaurant dining since the Covid-19 epidemic started. Earlier this month, the state of Victoria in Australia announced new lockdown restrictions and recently informed that they may extend the lockdown further due to a continuous rise of new cases in the region. In the Philippines, the government is considering stricter rules since they relaxed the lockdown restrictions on the first of June, this is because they are witnessing a massive surge in new cases in the capital city. Even North Korea recently reported their first official case, which was brought in from a citizen that had been in South Korea for the past three years. In India, the government is still relaxed about the restrictions despite having the highest number of infections at 1,4 million cases, only behind the United States and Brazil. It’s not unlikely that the Indian government will impose tougher restrictions again to combat the epidemic.
We know from the first lockdown that we won’t be able to move around, visit cinemas and go out for dinner whenever we like. All of that ends with a lockdown, and we are confined to spend a lot of time inside our homes instead. Struggling with what to do for entertainment is a luxury problem. Many people in India already lost their jobs and many more risk losing it if we have additional lockdowns. Most people did, however, express concerns of boredom and lack of social and entertaining activities. Below is a list of some past-time activities that were popular during the previous lockdown.
All the knowledge of the world is at our fingertips. Even if someone is not in school anymore, there’s no reason why they should stop their brain from working. There are resources everywhere online, from free online courses or topical blogs on almost any subject available to write and read about. So if time was ever an excuse to learn a new language or skill, the lockdown is a great opportunity to make time for it. Staying isolated at home is a great opportunity to educate yourself further and then exit lockdown as an even more skilled person.
Not everyone is interested in reading and learning some new skills. Most of us like to watch a film or play games as a past-time activity and during a lockdown, there’s plenty of time to do just that. Streaming subscriptions surged during the first lockdown, Disney+ Hotstar recently added a hundred feel-good films to their library to ease the mood during a potential forthcoming lockdown in India. Online casino companies reported about soaring revenues during the lockdown as people looked to add some thrill in their everyday lives during the lockdown period by playing live casino games and slots. Live casino games, in particular, add a level of social interaction as the player would engage with a dealer through live streams as they play Blackjack or Roulette. A lot of younger people turned to video gaming to kill time, one particular game called Animal’s Crossing shot to fame during the lockdown. With new updates coming to the Animal’s Crossing series, gamers can bet on staying entertained for many hours if a second wave of the Coronavirus comes.
Stay social while practising social distancing. Sounds contradicting no? Popular video conference tools can be used not only for business meetings, but also for staying in touch with friends and family, doing quizzes or even having dinner together, digitally. ‘Zoom boom’ became a thing during the lockdown where many private people started using Zoom, a popular video conferencing tool, to organize large get-togethers with family and friends while they were confined to their homes. This caused a spike in Zoom usage and propelled the product to worldwide adoption. Other tools can also be used, Skype works well for larger groups and then there’s Messenger and Facetime for one-to-one’s or small group calls.
With so much time on our hands, this could be a good time to start a blog to share knowledge and insights. Or maybe write a fictional story about a long-lost world? What about painting and experimenting with different materials to create unique art? Each person is their own and getting creative can be a great way to spend time and get to know ourselves better. Maybe knitting some socks and jumper would be fun? Don’t forget about the digital capabilities we have today, if the shops are closed and it’s difficult to get materials to start painting, there’s always free software that you can use to start animating, painting or maybe editing photos of family and friends.
