Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, who was released Tuesday after 232 days in detention, has been sharing tips on surviving quarantine or a lockdown, drawing on his months of experience. His advices have been coming in the form of a tweet thread which he started on March 24.
"Fresh air really helped - deep breaths near an open window," Abdullah wrote in one of his tweets, as the country remained under a 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 to check the spread of COVID-19.
Abdullah was detained on the intervening night of August 4 and August 5 last year just before the government abrogated provisions of Article 370. He was released on March 24.
"On a lighter note if anyone wants tips on surviving quarantine or a lock down I have months of experience at my disposal, perhaps a blog is in order," he said in the first tweet on the matter on March 24.
Encouraged by the response to this tweet, the former chief minister started sharing his experience. He asked people to establish a routine and try to stick to it.
"In all the months I was in HNSJ (Hari Niwas Sub-Jail) I stuck to a routine as though it were carved in stone. The routine gave me a sense of purpose and stopped me feeling aimless or lost," he said.
"Exercise, exercise, exercise. I can't emphasise this point enough....walking in the corridor, up and down the stairs or just endless burpees," he said, the former chief minister said there were a couple of mobile applications to help deal with anxiety. "...Otherwise just some soft music and deep breathing will help enormously.
"Day 5 by now anxiety is a major problem. I never thought I'd feel claustrophobic or trapped in an open room but there were times I felt the same way as I remember feeling while being inserted in to a MRI machine," the National Conference vice president tweeted on Sunday.
Meanwhile, he also urged the administration to "urgently intervene and find a balance between the necessary lockdown and the vital need to allow people to access essential supplies".
"Hearing from various parts of Srinagar, probably true for other parts of JK as well. People are struggling to access essential supplies like vegetables, milk and medicines because of the way the lockdown is being enforced.
He also said that while "announcing the lockdown the government should have ordered a complete moratorium on any evictions from residential properties. A lot of the people being forced to walk to their villages are doing so because their landlords are forcibly evicting them."
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