INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
With a family planning programme in 1951, India became one of the first few countries to give population control a space in its
The policy resulted in health workers reaching yet untouched areas of the country
But the barest of healthcare facility meant to control population over the decades actually functioned as the family expansion programme.The
same seems to have happened with India's Covid-19 strategy
When Indian states began coronavirus lockdowns, India became only a few countries besides China to adopt this strategy
When India went for a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, it actually locked more people than China ever did to contain Covid-19, which
originated in that country.India's lockdown was described as the strictest in the world
The national lockdown came almost unannounced, and it was total
That the lockdown itself was successful is proven from the official figures of GDP contraction rate for the April-June quarter.The
factories, offices, shops and other businesses remained closed
Lakhs of people did not earn anything
So, they did not spend even on the essentials
The result was massive loss of business activities and hence a negative 23.9 per cent GDP growth rate.SIDE-EFFECTS OF LOCKDOWNThe primary
intended objective of the strictest coronavirus lockdown was to break the cycle of Covid-19 spread
A GDP contraction was anticipated and acceptable only as a necessary evil byproduct of the coronavirus lockdown
However, as it is evident now, the lockdown only delayed what was debatably avoidable.Now, the policy response of nationwide lockdown to
Covid-19 pandemic may be blamed on some faulty models that predicted the death of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus over a course of two weeks if there
was no public activity and the patients - and Covid-19 clusters - were isolated during the period.At that time, the Modi government appeared
to be going for an extra week of lockdown as a cushion policy.India rolled out a strict nationwide lockdown in March to contain spread of
Here two women sitting outside a closed shop in Guwahati during lockdown
(Photo: PTI)"Life over livelihood" was the guiding philosophy behind the lockdown policy response
"Jaan hai to jahaan hai," was the mantra that Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about.What this lockdown did among other things was to
cause a shift in policy of the government to -- "jaan bhi, jahaan bhi" (life with livelihood)
In this adjusted policy response, the government's focus hugely sharpened on economy, having seen the consequences of lockdown.So, here
India stands with over 50 lakh Covid-19 cases - the second country in the world to reach this dubious milestone
If the current trend of Covid-19 spread continues by early October, India is likely to overtake the US (currently 67 lakh cases) as the
country with highest Covid-19 cases.INDIA'S JOURNEY TO 50 LAKH COVID-19 CASESEvery progressing month has seen aggravating Covid-19 situation
September is particularly bad having seen over 13 lakh cases - constituting around 27 per cent of all cases recorded till date in
India.India recorded its first 10 lakh cases in 167 days - much slower than the other two worst-affected countries, the US (98 days) and
Brazil (114 days).Afterwards, India has beaten them in the embarrassing race
India added each of next 10 lakh cumulative cases in 21, 16, 13 and 11 days
The US added its final 10 batches of 10 lakh cases in 16 days each
Brazil's fastest 10 lakh case count happened in 23 days.The surge in SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infections in September has taken the active
Covid-19 cases to over 10 lakh mark
Additionally, India is now recording highest number of Covid-19 deaths daily.So, what went wrong for India?TESTING STRATEGYTesting, tracing
and treatment are the mantras to fight Covid-19
All the agencies including World Health Organisation (WHO) and health experts agree on this
India's lockdown was also meant to ramp up its testing and treatment capabilities.India improved its testing capacity but not to match the
size of its population exposed to Covid-19 threat
The testing has always remained a constraint in every state
Second problem with the testing strategy was high dependence on rapid antigen testing.The problem with the rapid antigen testing is that
their reliability could be as low as 50-60 per cent
The most glaring example was seen earlier this week during the Delhi Assembly session.A health worker collecting swab sample for Covid-19
testing in Dharavi area of Mumbai
(Photo: PTI)Two of the MLAs attended the session after they were declared Covid-19 negative in the rapid test
When they were in the middle of the one-day special session, their RT-PCR test results came declaring them Covid-19 positive
At the time, they were attending the session along with other MLAs including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.The ICMR says the RT-PCR test is
the gold standard of testing
Still for most states, the rapid antigen testing account for up to 80 per cent of all tests.Given the unreliability of the rapid antigen
tests, experts have been calling for urgent need to shift India's testing strategy to RT-PCR
This needs massive ramping up in the RT-PCR capabilities.HIDDEN APPROACH TO KEEP COVID-19 NUMBERS LOW Many states have different approach
when it comes to recording and reporting Covid-19 numbers
States such as Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha have come under sharp criticism over their non-aggressive testing approach.People in some
states have complained that despite a member in their family having been reported Covid-19 positive, the local authorities declined to
collect samples from others who were in contact with the patient
In West Bengal, many Covid-19 deaths were counted for long as non-Covid-19 deaths as the government refused to count co-morbidity cases as
coronavirus fatality.Similarly, in Bihar, the government's focus has been on preparing for the upcoming state election
The workforce earlier deployed in counter-Covid-19 programmes are now engaged in election-related duty
In many areas, the local authorities have refused to collect sample for Covid-19 testing citing lack of resources.A man creating awareness
about how to protect oneself from coronavirus infection
(Photo: PTI)FISCAL DEFICIT OVER LIFEFinally, the government's focus in the past couple of months has been on unlocking the businesses
This is bringing out more and more people out in the public.Loss of employment to many during strict lockdown phases meant that a vast
majority does not have enough money with them to buy the essentials
So, they cannot spend on masks, and sanitisers
People coming out in the public find it almost impossible to follow social distancing protocol in a densely populated country like India.The
government has cited its own fiscal compulsions for not doling out more freebies to the poor - such as direct cash transfer to their bank
accounts in order to keep them inside their homes
Many economists including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan have recommended this strategy.The government fears that its fiscal deficit
will go up sharply making its financial standing vulnerable creating a fresh set of problems
This leaves the government with the only alternative to let people come out of their homes and make the country's businesses run.Not
surprising that with the progress of unlock phases, the cases have surged exponentially
Daily cases are in the touching range of 1 lakh pushing the cumulative figure to over 50 lakh
It is high time the government and agencies involved in strategising fight against the Covid-19 pandemic have a relook at it.
