By Tashmayee Sarkhel
Published on: 31 July 2022 at 21:30 IST
The article consists of the emergence of COVID-19, its dominance over different parts of the world, and specifically on graduate students persevering in different professional courses. This specific article also covers the problem faced by the students of the legal fraternity.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome was first isolated from three people with pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, China, on 31st December 2019, it was then the unusual phenomenon was discovered for first time ever. The Chinese authorities temporarily named “2019-nCoV” on 7 January 2020. The source of such infectious diseases is still undiscovered as to whether the virus becomes pathogenic beforehand itself or after the spillover event.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought in an immense effect on the graduates of the legal department. The spread of COVID-19 was sudden, and so was their changing lifestyle. The chrome of traditional adaptive work to online mode made it arduous for every law graduate to showcase and enhance their skills and catch up access to profound legal firms and even court practice.
Analysis over and over again on this respective subject matter, the pandemic has sorely brought in the effect of financial hardships and more financial stresses leading them to a situation of major symptoms of depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Them facing job and insecurity of losing up their respected job and internship and an unexpected increase in living expenses have led them to a situation of going through a generalized anxiety disorder.
Regardless of the extreme hardships faced by them, there have been situations where many of them got easy virtual access to benevolent and dignified legal firms at various places despite their geographical situations and diversification between the employee and the employer’s residential location. The effect of the pandemic upon the law graduates is somewhat comparable to mixed emotions, but the pessimistic impacts, override the assertive impacts.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19):
As stated by the world health organization (WHO), “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. However, some will become seriously ill and require medical attention. Older people and those with underlying medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer are more likely to develop serious illnesses. Anyone can get sick with COVID-19 and become seriously ill or die at any age.
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the disease and how the virus spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by staying at least 1 meter apart from others, wearing a properly fitted mask, and washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently. Get vaccinated when it’s your turn and follow local guidance.
The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing, or breath. These particles range from larger respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols. It is important to practice respiratory etiquette, for example by coughing into a flexed elbow, and to stay at home and self-isolate until you recover if you feel unwell.”
The emergency of coronavirus from Wuhan, China, resulted in a formidable outbreak globally including in Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United State of America, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and India. The Taiwan CDC, the ministry of wealth named it severe pneumonia with novel pathogens on January 15, 2019.
By February 6, 2020, a total of 28,276 cases were confirmed with 565 deaths globally which were documented by WHO, involving at least 25 countries.
Up to the minute’s news: worldwide
- “1.5 million covid cases daily, new wave sweeping across Europe”: UN Chief – NDTV (April 9, 2022)
The UN chief said, “We’re seeking 1.5 million new cases each day. Large outbreaks are spreading in Asia. A new wave is sweeping across Europe”, about the present covid situation. It has been even reported that many countries are facing their highest death rates since the start of the pandemic.
It was also being stated by WHO, that a news strain of the COVID-19 Omicron variant is appearing to be more transmissible than previous strains of the virus, which is first detected in the United Kingdom.
The news focus on different countries which have reported high death rates as the United State of America (4,435 new deaths; a 10 percent decline), Russia (2,357 new death; an 18 percent decline), South Korea (2,336 new deaths; a 5 percent decline), Germany (1,592 new death; a 5 percent rise) and Brazil (1,436 new deaths, a 19 percent fall).
The UN Chief has even called on countries to commit new funding for the ACT- Accelerator, and COVAX this year. (The COVAX facility is a global procurement mechanism for COVID-19 Vaccines through which it seeks to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines for all 190 participating economies by using an allocation framework that is being formulated by WHO).
- Shanghai becomes the new COVID- 19 epicenter with record cases for the 6th consecutive day. -The economic Times (April 7, 2022)
China’s main financial hub and one of its biggest cities is Shanghai. It has become the epicenter of COVID-19 cases in the country. It has set a record after the mass testing was taken up for logging around 20,000 cases, six days consecutively.
It was reported by China’s National Health Commission on 7th April 2022, that the mainland of China has reported 1,284 new locally-transmitted Covid-19 Cases, including 322 in Shanghai on 6th April 2022.
A report published, showed the crucial condition of Shanghai as it has become quite serious of its looming outbreak. The city’s ruling Communist Party has sent an open letter to rally workers to help the front-line health workers in their quest to find and douse the disease. The city is facing chaos as people are fighting for food at the Nanhui quarantine, which was brought into control by the authorities. This incident was posted as a blog on social media.
India has a population of more than 1.34 billion and is considered to be the second-largest populated country in the world.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, India on 8th May 2020, reported 56,342 positive cases. Since then, India is fighting its way to controlling the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus among its people.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India has been raising, awareness about the outbreak of the disease and how to control it from being spread widely. There have been various measures were taken by the central as well as the state governments and even formulated several wartime protocols to achieve their goals in preventing the widespread disease, COVID-19.
At the beginning itself, the Indian government issued a 55-day lockdown all over the nation which started on 25th March 2020. The lockdown exerted was for bringing reduction to the transmission of the virus.
The pandemic which broke out, had a direct relation to the economy of the nation as it created a hinder for the industries sectors and even affected the employment of every individual.
Up-to-the-minute news: India
The Union Health Secretory Rajesh Bhushan has sent letters to five states namely, Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Haryana, for reporting to a higher contribution to new covid cases.
Kerala reported 2,321 new cases in the last week, accounting for 31.8 percent of India’s new cases. Delhi has reported 826 new cases in the last week, leading to 11.33 percent of India’s new cases. Haryana has reported 416 new cases in the last week, accounting for 5.70 percent of India’s new cases. Maharashtra has reported 794 new cases last week, adding to 10.9 percent of India’s new cases. Mizoram has reported 814 new cases in the last week, accounting for 11.16 percent of India’s new cases.
The states have been asked to countries with the five-fold strategy (testing, tracking, treatment, vaccination, and adherence to covid appropriate behavior).
XE, a sub-variant of omicron, has brought a tension-filled situation in India. After a case had been detected in Mumbai, this variant, was being detected in Gujarat, according to the sources in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The patient tested positive on the 13th of March and recovered within a week. After genome-sequencing, it has been discovered that the patient was infected with the XE variant of coronavirus. However, according to the government sources, the sample will be re-examined to confirm whether it is the XE variant itself or not. The Health Ministry based on a PTI (Press Trust of India Ltd.) report, has said that the genomic analysis of the sample is underway.
Adhering to the crux of the COVID-19 situation, it has brought in with it various gloom-ridden circumstances. May the circumstances be related to economy, health, sanitation, education, or employment, all were affected crucially.
Graduates of any professional degree faced grave setbacks in their employment life. The sudden change from manual jobs to virtual jobs turned the life of many up and down.
India today is witnessing a large number of law aspirants because of its recent subjected hype. The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, has brought in with it a lot of drastic changes. The people who graduated that particular year or after that from the law fraternity faced a serious backlog.
The campus placements turned into mere virtual placement cells. People who are abridged from technologies usages or deprived of high bandwidth because of the geographical locations that they were struck into made them undergo situations that lead to an increasing amount of anxiety and disorder among many individuals.
The inexorable fee payments asked by the law universities to the students made it impossible for the students, as it was quite a difficult part of rendering a particular amount during the pandemic. This created financial insecurity among many.
Many law graduates last their jobs internships and jobs, opportunities which again created a depressing situation for them. The increases in living and housing facilities added to their list of mental disturbances. If also many joined virtual jobs or internships, affording for personal high bandwidth become incorrigible.
There has been even a decrease in the packages being provided to the law students on their placements. Previously it was more than above but has been drastically reduced to 5 to 10k. this has brought in with itself a sense of financial tension among all the individuals, ultimately leading them down in a pool of gloom.
There’s always a common saying that the future of legal education lies in skill set training. Until and unless there is practical excelling of practices involved, a future of legality cannot be set up. The skills should be profoundly inculcated within the law aspirants.
The news which was published on March 27, 2020, in frontline stated about the crisis in legal studies in India, where the problem of the students from the National Law Universities was upheld, as the universities lacked financial support from the state, which had an effect of passing the burden of higher fees on students and effecting kept on students belonging from a less privileged background.
Conclusion
Apart from all the backlashes being faced by the law graduates, there are as much many well-acquainted matters related to it as well. Many surveys stated that how work has been shifted to virtual mode, helping people in saving their significant time. It brought in with itself new avenues to explore, which helped in proving their skills. Many laws graduate aspiring for interning under any of the multinational companies but backed by financial support, found it quite a handy method to apply for such job opportunities virtually and to gain some immensely helpful skills to root deep within them.
Opportunities on working on various research papers and journals have also helped many of them to go through an experience in skill-based professions.
As also stated earlier, the pandemic bought a sense of mixed emotions to all and especially to law graduates, with pessimism and optimism dwelling together.
Reference:
Author – Tashmayee Sarkhel, currently pursuing a B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) at University Law College and Department of Studies in Law, Bangalore University.