WITH ITS POOR PUBLIC health system, India ranks amongst the lowest in the world in terms of testing rates per million population for COVID-19. The lockdown from March 25, extended on April 14 up to May 3 and subsequently to May 17 with a partial opening up, gave the government time to work out a strategy and also reduced the burden on hospitalisations. While the spread of the virus may have been contained to an extent, there is little certainty on whether it has been suppressed.
Professor Srinath Reddy, who is a member of the 21-member high-level technical committee of public health experts, chaired by NITI Aayog member Dr. V.K. Paul, spoke to Frontline about the limitations of testing in the general population, the importance of random sampling, surveillance of influenzalike illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), and the impact of physical distancing on the poor. Excerpts:
The experiences of dealing with the outbreak are varied across countries, particularly with regard to the extent of lockdown measures, scale of testing, and the relative weightage given to these two. The government’s current strategy is to expand testing, which is also what the WHO recommends. Have we, however, lost precious time by not scaling up testing during the 30 days of the lockdown? Given the limitations of both an extended lockdown and of testing a 1.3 billion population, what options does India have going forward?
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
