INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
India has had a centralised Covid-19 containment strategy
State governments are often seen deflecting the blame for the failure to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic on the central government
Most non-BJP governments in states have resorted to this "blame the Centre" cover at different points of time in the past six months.Right
now, India is the global Covid-19 hotspot
It has been so for over a month
As has been the case every month, September proved to be worse than the previous 30 days
On August 31, India had a Covid-19 caseload of 36.87 lakh
India has added close to 20 lakh more confirmed cases to that tally.The only bright spot, so to say, for India is the increase in the
recovery rate of Covid-19 patients
However, recovery rates always improve with time in any pandemic situation
India has reported over 16.5 lakh recoveries in September.The worry is that India has added almost 2 lakh additional active Covid-19 cases
This is when four consecutive days -- September 18-21 -- brought down active cases by about 42,000.A majority of these active cases have
come from Maharashtra, which added over 80,000 active Covid-19 cases in September -- a share of about 40 per cent of the national grand
tally of active Covid-19 cases for the month, as of September 21
This after Maharashtra recorded a dip in the number of active cases by over 16,000 on September 21.Maharashtra has shown a fresh surge in
Covid-19 numbers in September
Except Mondays, Maharashtra has reported over 20,000 cases every day since September 6
Mondays' figures are less due to lower testing on Sundays.The sheer number of existing and fresh Covid-19 caseload brings Maharashtra at the
centre of any pan-India containment strategy
However, the situation is as -- or more -- explosive in some other states.Covid-19 confirmed cases in Chhattisgarh have grown over 275 per
cent from the tally of August 31 -- or an increase of 175 per cent during the period
Active cases in Chhattisgarh stood on September 21 at 265 per cent of what it was at the end of the last month.Delhi too has doubled its
volume of active Covid-19 cases after showing a significant decline in the number of fresh cases in August
Kerala is another story of slippage
It has recorded a jump of over 75 per cent in active cases.Active cases are a better benchmark to estimate the Covid-19 pandemic situation
It is this number that is actually the burden on the healthcare infrastructure
If the number of active cases keeps rising in states that have poor health infrastructure, the situation is bound to be graver.Chhattisgarh
is one such state where large tribal areas don't have access to robust healthcare facilities
Jammu and Kashmir is another such area with poor public health infrastructure
The Union Territory has shown more than 100 per cent rise in active cases.There is some kind of relief in the official figures from states
like Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, where active cases have declined recently, and testing has gone up
In West Bengal, the increase in active Covid-19 cases has been marginal in recent weeks but testing has plateaued in the state.Uttar Pradesh
and Karnataka, among other big states, have shown marginal increases in active Covid-19 cases
But these two states may have different problems with the same trend.Uttar Pradesh has a huge population volume and weak healthcare system
while Karnataka has lower burden of population and stronger healthcare facilities
A similar rise in Covid-19 cases could lead to starkly different impacts.It is time that state governments took onus and the central
government allowed more freedom to local administrations in formulating a counter-Covid-19 strategy to bring down caseloads significantly
Every state has its own peculiar setting of healthcare infrastructure, literacy level, penetration of government agencies and even people's
response to Covid-19 protocol
A customised policy response may be the need of the hour.(All figures from covid19india.org)(This article is from our 'News Analysis'
A news analysis piece advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author's interpretation of the facts and data
News analysis pieces may include reported facts or quotes, but emphasises the author's own thoughts, interpretations and conclusions.)
