THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) officially declared the coronavirus disease a global pandemic, sparking broad criticism of so-called China’s original sin. Some voices mention that Beijing should have revealed more information about the virus in the initial stages, disclosed the exact origin of the disease, etc. It seemed that the Chinese government had a skeleton in its closet. Biochemical weapons, artificial virus—anti- Chinese conspiracy theories went viral. So, let us see what China has done for battling the epidemic.
While the coronavirus has caused more than 110,000 infections across 114 countries and regions, with a global death toll of more than 8,000, China implemented stringent prevention and control measures at great cost, which the WHO has praised highly: Almost 60 days’ and nights’ battle against the virus, 340 medical assistance teams, more than 42,000 health-care workers who have been separated from their families since the Chinese Spring Festival. Among them, 46 have died on duty and 1,716 infected. Besides, the Chinese government locked down the virus epicentre, Wuhan, where 10 million people live, on January 23. Across Hubei, as many as 60 million people faced some sort of outbound restriction. Without their sacrifice, it would have been impossible for close to 80 per cent of the over 80,000 infected patients on the Chinese mainland to recover. Looking at their sacrifice, any allegation based on conspiracy theories is unfair.
ECHOES OF THE GREAT PLAGUE
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.
