ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS BEING LAUDED in India is that in a population of 1.3 billion, the number of reported coronavirus cases has been very low. The national address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 19 asking people to observe a self-imposed curfew on March 22, to clap and ring bells from their balconies to appreciate the work of doctors and health workers, and to not hoard, do not give an indication of the state of health preparedness across the country.
While the efforts of the government in issuing travel advisories, installing screening mechanisms at airports and advising people to take precautions have been acknowledged, public health experts have cautioned about gross under-reporting of infected cases and emphasized that the total number of tests conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) based on a small sample was not enough to arrive at the conclusion that community transmission was not occurring.
There also were reports of people diagnosed with COVID-19 interacting and moving freely in the community. The revised strategy of testing issued on March 21 by the ICMR underscores the approach that cases of COVID-19 in India relate only to travel and local transmission from “imported cases to their immediate contacts”. The notification says that “community transmission of the disease has not been documented till now. Once community transmission is documented, the above testing strategy will undergo changes to evolve into a stage-appropriate testing strategy.”
This story is from the April 10, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the April 10, 2020 edition of FRONTLINE.
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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.
