Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
Amidst the corona pandemic, particularly during the lockdown phase, some positive effects were observed on the wildlife. During the lockdown phase, animals had an increased and uninterrupted territory. In some areas, wild animals were seen on roads and in residential areas. Less traffic, less human intervention and less pollution gave space to wildlife to thrive. It was definitely a rare phenomenon on the roads. Wildlife re-entered the areas snatched from them. However, these positive and negative impacts were transient and were largely observed during the complete lockdown phase only.

Some of the worst sufferers of the pandemic are stray animals like dogs and cats. They are no longer able to survive on waste food material from restaurants and shops because of shops being closed. Also, they are being abandoned by their owners due to unfounded fears that they may spread COVID-19. The worst possibility is that the stray animals might eat disposed masks and gloves, which can become lethal.

Overall although a few positive impacts of COVID-19 on the environment were seen, these were the short-term effects induced largely by the nation-wide lockdown. Indeed, the pandemic is expected to pose long-term adverse effects on the environment in future. Some of the gravest long-term effects of corona are the dangers posed to the environment. These are : the phenomenal increase in the use of chemicals that abound in hand wash and sanitizers; the extensive use of plastic by way of masks and gloves; the huge amount of hospital waste; and finally the effect of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications that get into lakes, rivers and streams which ultimately pollute our waters. All these will eventually contribute to a tremendous increase in environmental pollution.

‘Unfounded fear’ means fear based on:

1. A
   false belief
2. B
   truth
3. C
   logic
4. D
   rationality