India coronavirus dispatch: Pandemic’s impact on South Asian countries

From the driving force behind economic policies in the coming future, to problems faced by the elderly, and whether or not you should switch on the AC – read these and more in today’s India dispatch

Here is a selection of pieces from across Indian publications on Covid-19. From the driving force behind economic policies in the coming future, to the problems faced by the elderly under lockdown, and whether or not you should switch on the air conditioner during this pandemic – read these and more in today’s India dispatch.

Expert Speak

Condition of the poor an emergency, govt must open sluice gates: Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee, says in this interview that the two most urgent needs of migrant workers and the urban unemployed that the government must tackle immediately are food and housing. He explains why the government must issue temporary ration cards for three or six months and give them food. He also says the government must also open the sluice gates and get money out to these people.

Citizens Under Lockdown

At helplines for the elderly, distress calls for fear of dying alone: The problems of elderly callers ranged from a shortage of medicines and physical support to anxiety, fear and anxiousness. There were those with few resources to survive, while others who were entirely dependent on domestic help no longer available. Some were sick or vulnerable to infections and disease, and many complained of loneliness and anxiety. The biggest fear: dying alone with no family or friends around. Read here about how the lockdown has impacted the elderly citizens…Read Full Story

Covid-19 Factoid: India took just four days to add 5,000 coronavirus cases

While the rate at which new daily deaths get added to the global toll has been declining consistently, France, the fourth most affected country has shown some clear signs of improvement

Globally, now there are more than 2.6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. While the number of fatalities stands at 185,504, recoveries so far have been 730,843. In other words, for every 10 closed cases, two cases have ended up as fatalities, and the rest have recovered. In India, the tally of confirmed cases is now well above 21,000, and death toll is at 686. A little less than 20 per cent of all reported cases have now recovered. There has been a drop in the number of new cases added, but the trajectory is still erratic.

Here are a few data trends to help you understand the present pandemic situation:

1. Growth in global number of fatalities is slowing down

Growth in daily deaths across the world in percentage terms has been on a decline consistently. In the past two weeks, the rate of growth has been under 10 per cent, even sub-5 per cent in last five days. While the global death toll stands at 185,504, the US alone accounts for more than 20 per cent of all reported deaths. Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom have also reported high numbers of fatalities.

2. France shows signs of improvement; daily new case additions on a decline

France is showing consistent improvement with its daily new case additions falling consistently in the past 15 days. The country is the fourth most affected in the world — next to the US, Spain and Italy — by number of total confirmed cases. With its current tally of cases at 159,877, it is one of the four countries to have reported more than 20,000 deaths in the pandemic…Read More

India coronavirus dispatch: Continuing legislative work through a crisis

From a continued shortage of safety gears for health workers, to unforeseeable dangers of mass surveillance, and whether to do rapid tests or not – read these and more in today’s India dispatch

Here’s a round-up of important coronavirus-related articles from across Indian publications. From a continued shortage of safety gears for health workers, to unforeseeable dangers of mass surveillance, and whether to do rapid tests or not – read these and more in today’s India dispatch.

Citizens Under Lockdown

Is India neglecting its migrant workers abroad? A question that may arise in the case of international migrant workers is of attribution of state responsibility. Should the host country be responsible for the workers who are residing there or should the source country (or country of origin) support its nationals? Arguably, a migrant worker contributes to both countries’ economy. Therefore, shouldn’t the migrant worker’s civil right to good health be a shared responsibility in times like these? Read more here.

Stroke is an exception, rush to hospital: People in an extremely vulnerable group need to follow the specific advice about their health condition. A healthy diet, regular physical activity (at home) and reduction of anxiety and stress. While the anxiety of contracting the virus is understandable, emergencies like a brain attack or stroke cannot wait. Read here on why prompt attention at the earliest is the only way to achieve the best outcomes.

Opinion

How crucial legislative work could continue in crisis: Many of our MPs are already interacting with their constituents and party colleagues via video conferencing. Therefore, the switch to a virtual meeting for legislative work might be easy. What will require work is the setting up of protocols for ensuring participation, security and robust technology. Read more here.

Covid-19: Delhi has highest infection rate, Tamil Nadu is showing recovery

India had tested 383,985 people as on April 19 and found 17,615 of them (4.6%) positive. As on April 1, the number of confirmed cases in India was 2,059, or 3.5% of 47,951 tests conducted until then

India’s coronavirus infection rate – positive results as a proportion of tests conducted – has increased sharply from 3.5 per cent on April 1 to 4.6 per cent on April 19, reveal data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). As on April 19, India had tested 383,985 people for Covid-19, and found 17,615 of them (4.6 per cent) to be positive for the virus. By comparison, the total number of confirmed cases in India as on April 1 was 2,059, or 3.5 per cent of the 47,951 tests conducted till then.

However, if one were to look at the same data in a different way, the tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India has seen a 10-fold growth since the start of the month, against an increase of about 14 times in the total number of tests conducted during the same period. India has significantly ramped up its testing capabilities lately to keep a check on the spread of coronavirus infections in the country.

Among the 15 most affected Indian states with more than 100 confirmed Covid-19 cases, five have seen a spike in infection rate, and the rest a decline. The sharpest rise in infection rate has been seen in Delhi – of around two percentage points between April 1 and 19. Delhi has tested 24,387 samples till April 19 and recorded 2,003 Covid-19-positive cases — an infection rate of 8.2 per cent. The best performance on this count has come from Tamil Nadu, where the infection rate has dropped from 13 per cent at the start of the month to 3.6 per cent now…Read More

Coronavirus brings focus on division of power between the Centre and states

Experts stress the need for an over-arching central law to deal with epidemics

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is getting heaps of praise as he tackles the coronavirus pandemic in his state, despite being at loggerheads with US President Donald Trump. In India, there still exists a conundrum over the division of powers between the Centre and states to fight the pandemic. Several experts want an over-arching central law to deal with similar situations in a quasi-federal democracy where fragmented laws don’t demarcate the roles of the two.

Around three years back, the ministry of health put up for discussion the draft Public Health (Prevention, Control and Management of Epidemics, Bio-terrorism and Disasters) Bill, 2017. The draft Bill mentioned the role and responsibilities of the Centre and states in a medical emergency. The Bill, however, never saw the light of the day. According to Article 246 of the Constitution, matters related to public order and health are mentioned in the state list. To deal with the fast-spreading pandemic, the central government took recourse to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (ED Act), and the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act). Subsequently, it announced a countrywide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, using provisions in the DM Act.

As the virus quickly spread across the country, many experts called for the imposition of an emergency, which could give the Centre wide-ranging powers. However, such a measure would have faced implementation challenges. “The Constitution does not directly mention health emergencies of the kind India is currently experiencing. However, once central legislation becomes applicable, Article 256 applies. That provision says that states must comply with central laws, and the Centre can issue directions to demand compliance,” says Shubhankar Dam, professor of public law and governance, University of Portsmouth School of Law, UK…Read More

India coronavirus dispatch: What happens when a Covid-19 case is confirmed?

The scientists helping fight a pandemic, the future of agricultural markets, and how the government responds when a Covid-19 case is confirmed – read these and more in today’s India dispatch

Here’s a round-up of articles from across publications in India on how the country is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic – from scientists helping fight a pandemic, to the future of agricultural markets, and how the government responds when a Covid-19 case is confirme.

Expert Speak

Webinar: Was the lockdown successful in breaking the chain? Is herd immunity going to save us from the virus? Who needs the mask? Listen to this webinar to know what Dr Shahid Jameel, a well-known virologist and CEO, DBT, India Alliance, and Dr Arvind Kumar, chest and lung surgeon at New Delhi’s Sir Gangaram Hospital, and founder of Lung Care Foundation, have to say about the coronavirus outbreak in India, the lockdown, the treatments, vaccine developments and future of the pandemic.

Citizens Under Lockdown

These scientists are not medical experts but are still trying to help fight coronavirus: They are not virologists or involved in medical research, but a team of around 400 scientists has come up with different ways to bolster India’s attempts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. They are busting coronavirus-related myths — a major menace in current times — besides using government data to derive calculated estimates about the spread of the disease. Read here about how they are also helping manufacture masks and low-cost ventilators.

For Indians under lockdown, social media is the go-to source for news and entertainment: With Indians locked up inside homes, social media usage has gone through the roof in the country. Total session time – the time spent each day – on popular social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram grew significantly between February 2 and March 29, data show. Read more here.