Containing Covid

With the number of positive cases detected in India rising to 29, novel coronavirus (Covid-19) is now too close for comfort. The government has decided, albeit belatedly, that all international flights and passengers would be screened, not just those from the 12 countries listed earlier. The Indian health and civil aviation authorities face the challenge of ensuring that the situation doesn’t spiral out of control. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made it clear that the actions that newly affected countries take today will be the difference between a handful of cases and a pandemic.

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• Coronavirus: All you need to know
• Coronavirus scare: Here’s what you can do to avoid infections
• Delayed restriction spurts virus cases
• Screening at land ports, borders
• Delhi forms task force to combat Covid-19
• 88 linked to infected man to be screened

Does India — the world’s most populous country after China — have the wherewithal for timely containment? The Centre had told Parliament in November last year that there was one doctor for every 1,445 Indians as per the country’s current population estimate of 135 crore, well below the WHO-prescribed doctor-patient ratio of 1:1,000. The shortage of doctors is putting a severe strain on the public healthcare system, with government hospitals struggling to provide affordable, hassle-free treatment. The political leadership is busy offering platitudes about epidemic preparedness and inter-ministry coordination rather than giving the low-down on the availability of essential drugs and personal protective equipment – gloves, masks, respirators etc. — that healthcare professionals need while attending to Covid-19 patients. The increasing disruption to the global supply has restricted access to such basic equipment, underlining the need to rationalise its use and crack down on hoarding. It’s time to test the viability of a unified emergency response system, as envisaged in the National Health Policy-2017.

The outbreak has triggered an information explosion, making it tough for the masses to separate facts from myths. The Central and state governments need to conduct an intensive awareness campaign to effectively counter misinformation. People spreading canards about magic remedies, such as the BJP MLA from Assam who thinks cow urine and cow dung may cure coronavirus, should be officially exposed to public ridicule. At the individual level, it’s all about sticking to the basics: washing hands with an antiseptic handwash and maintaining safe distance from infected persons — in short, preferring the namaskar to a handshake.