India coronavirus dispatch: Fighting today, planning for tomorrow’s battles

New economic models around health care, human rights and democracy during a pandemic, and whether the summer heat will kill the coronavirus – read these and more in today’s India coronavirus dispatch

Here’s a round-up of important coronavirus-related articles in Indian publications. From planning for new economic models centered around health care, to value of human rights and democracy during pandemics, and whether the summer heat kill coronavirus — read these and more in today’s India coronavirus dispatch.

Citizens Under Lockdown

The extraordinary men and women of these extraordinary times: Amid news of hoarding and misery, there are self-driven volunteers who have cut across barriers, across the country. Here are some of the people who have acted on the principle that a small act goes a long way. From cooking to ensure migrant labourers are fed, to working around the clock to bust WhatsApp myths, read here to know how Indians have responded to this extraordinary crisis….

Long Reads

Coronavirus is breaking the back of India’s restaurant industry: As India went into a lockdown last month, restaurants were ordered shut, though they were allowed to service takeout and home delivery orders. As a result, almost overnight, millions of people went out of work, at least temporarily. And if the pandemic does not subside soon enough, industry experts warn, a substantial section of the workforce might not even have workplaces to go back to. Read more.

Opinion

Democracy should not permit a trade-off: Epidemics provide an opportunity to do away with inconvenient checks and balances institutionalised in the media, the judiciary, and civil society. The dismantling of constitutions and institutions will have a major impact on societies. Read here to understand whether decisions to control the pandemic need to be at the expense of human rights and democracy.

It is time for digital leaders to flatten the curve of infodemic: An ‘infodemic’ — an over-abundance of noxious or false-but-benign, and occasionally useful information on Covid-19 — has hit the country harder than the pandemic itself. If there ever was a time to demonstrate vision and leadership, this is the time for the digital leaders to flatten the curve of the infodemic before it flattens the most vulnerable populations on the planet. Read more here.