COVID-19 Management: Did the Central Government make a mistake?
The most detrimental consequences of Covid-19 in India have been the government’s approach to the sickness, not the disease itself. The world’s largest draconian shutdown tanked the economy and drove countless into despair and starvation, yet failed to curtail the transmission of virus. Early in the pandemic, the Government of India enforced nationwide lockdown, with laws confining everyone to their houses, forbidding all economic activities, and social mobilities. Although this severe restriction slowed the virus’s spread, it could not contain it for long. In a country with a population of more than 1.3 billion , COVID-19 had just 320 cases and ten deaths when the lockdown began on March 25. With about 20,000 new cases recorded nearly everyday, India had risen to become the third worst-affected country in the world, only behind the United States and Brazil, and was on track to overtake them by the end of June. India today appears to be bound in the worst of all worlds. The incapacity to manage the epidemic was blatantly exposed by the significant economic losses and human miseries as a result of the quarantine and the subsequent crash of jobs and livelihoods. While COVID-19 fatalities have risen, the number of deaths caused by the lockdown has risen as well, with at least 600 such confirmed deaths.
Despite the fact that various scientists are now working to anticipate and calculate the number of COVID-19 cases and the ending of the epidemic, India is seeing an unprecedented spike in the volume of cases. As of July 11th, 2020, India has 2,922,58 active COVID-19 cases, with 5,34,620 patients recovered and discharged (recovery rate of 60.86 percent) and 22,674 COVID-19 infected patients deceased.
“If the govt hopes to repair its image, it must revive democratic practice & inclusive politics”- Shashi Tharoor
Was the government cautious about Covid-19 during elections? Answer is obvious, absolutely not. Campaign events drew significant crowds in each of the five states that held assembly elections. Election campaigns had begun in earnest in all of these states by mid-March. Huge throngs of people in electoral rallies, without masks or physical distancing, have become almost daily occurrences in many states. The pace of growth of daily average cases surged as the campaign marches proceeded. As a consequence, the medical system has been swamped by an avalanche of cases. If our elected elites had even a smidgeon of regard for the general populace, health care regulations would have been rigidly defined during campaign events and mass gatherings thus limiting the gravity of the devastations caused by the second wave to a great extent.
It’s quite paradoxical that the country acclaimed as the “pharmacy of the world” is facing one of the most arduous hurdles in immunizing its 1.3 billion population. India’s vaccination drive has not really addressed the demand of adults who are the powerhouses of the county. The technicalities of delivering the vaccine to the enormous population, which is extremely difficult to do, is currently the greatest hindrance for India. Managing vaccination stockpiles across hundreds of local stores and health clinics is a huge task to undertake. The stakes are larger than ever in a country where power outages and communication failures are common. For a country as diversified as India in terms of socioeconomic, linguistic, religious, and cultural diversity, vaccine reluctance is often entrenched in the social heritage of its citizens’ lives rather than safety issues. Government initiatives promoting vaccines and their effects have been abandoned at the grassroots level, where people have yet to be enlightened of its relevance. In India’s rural areas, no Asha workers or health representatives have yet been appointed to provide awareness.
More than anything, what is more important? Oxygen for breathing!
Along with a slew of other issues and setbacks, India experienced a severe scarcity of medical oxygen, which is critical for patients who have been infected. In several states around the country, the severe scarcity has proven to be a huge concern for hospitals. This episode was yet another indication of the ignorance of government and hubris of political leadership. Despite this, the country lacks adequate warehousing and distribution facilities. Cryogenic trucks convey liquid oxygen at extremely low temperatures to distributors, who subsequently turn it to gas for filling cylinders. However, India lacks cryogenic tankers.
“Worryingly, there is little discussion about a COVID-19 strategy which factors in rural India’s myriad constraints including oxygen availability,”,Vikas Bajpai. Many states have yet to be told about their share and what they would receive from the centre. The state’s allotments are still up in the air. Is this the opulent medical system that we’re talking about? When donations are poured into PM care funds from across the globe, there is a complete lack of transparency about how this money is spent. The claims of nepotism and prejudice in terms of spending is very alarming. PM CARES for namesake, but does our PM really care?
The only plausible explanation for the diagnosis and prevention of the epidemic has been the ardent labor of all frontline workers, particularly medical physicians, nurses, healthcare professionals, sanitation workers, police personnel and several NGOs. In other respects, a number of administrative roadblocks are obstructing synchronization between state, national, and international agencies, and may be contributing to the second wave’s lack of response to COVID-19. India is a large country with regional differences in health literacy, health care inequalities, and low risk perceptions among the public at large. India has yet to determine if it is fully equipped for another wave. Else, the globe may shed countless lives that could be saved if political wills prioritized the welfare of the service public over rapid electoral victory.
Ending this excerpt with the most ironic statement of the century;
“Our biggest achievement is the successful fight against Covid-19 Apart from only the government, for the first time 130 crore people are fighting this pandemic under the leadership of Modi,” Amit Shah.
*cricket noises* in the background.
