India coronavirus dispatch: The impact of a pandemic on globalisation

From geographical mapping to fight Covid-19, to the impact of a pandemic on globalisation, and whether the curve has really flattened in India - read these and more in today's India dispatch

Here’s a round-up of important coronavirus-related article from across Indian publications — from geographical mapping to fight Covid-19, to the impact of a pandemic on globalisation, and whether the curve has really flattened in India.

Expert Speak

We have to wait for two more weeks to see if the curve has flattened: In this large country, we will need state-wise or preferably even district-wise assessments, as the calendar of the epidemic and its control will vary across the country. Read this interview with Professor K Srinath Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India, on India’s fight against the pandemic.

Will Covid-19 affect the course of globalisation? The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on free trade is yet to be completely understood. Biswajit Dhar, director at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and Nagesh Kumar, professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU, explain in this interview whether the pandemic would spell an end to open markets as we know it.

Citizens Under Lockdown

India’s coronavirus lockdown is revealing deep income disparities in the legal profession: Across India, the nationwide lockdown has brought to the fore the great disparity in the legal profession. Mention lawyers and the image that strikes the public is that of famous names who charge massive amounts of money. But this section is a small one. A vast majority of lawyers, especially in lower courts, function on a case-to-case basis for their income. Read more here.

How do I send my mother’s cancer medicines to her in another city? Medicines are classified as “essential items” according to the rules of India’s three-week lockdown. However, reports of people struggling to procure medicines are common — from difficulty in going to a government hospital in Delhi to get an HIV-suppressing medicine or reports of kidney patients suffering in Kerala due to a shortage. Read here to understand what you can do to send medicines to a relative, and why there is such a shortage of medicines at your local chemist.

What it looks like when India's 1.3 billion people stay home: On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the world's largest lockdown. The humongous state-run Indian Railways recorded the first suspension of services in its 167-year history, and millions of migrant day labourers walked hundreds of miles back to their villages along deserted highways. Read here to get a quick picture of what this lockdown looks like.

Long Reads

In India, microbiologists are suddenly in demand. Where were they until now? When a pandemic like that of the new coronavirus lands on India’s doorstep, everyone turns to the country’s microbiologists, or virologists in this specific case. But where do these microbiologists and virologists figure in India’s overall funding and research priorities in less calamitous times? Read more here.

Opinion

By revealing magnitude of migrant worker phenomenon, Covid-19 points to rural distress: The magnitude of the migrant distress should open the eyes of urban dwellers to the grim situation of India’s agriculture. This sector of the economy should become a priority again in term of policies. Read here to understand why Indian agriculture needs more investments and more financial support, among other measures.

A time for extraordinary action: The economic impact of the measures required to deal with the pandemic are already posing grave problems. Specifically, the lockdown and other movement restrictions, backed by scientific and political consensus on their inevitability, have directly led to a dramatic slowdown in economic activity across the board. What is their impact on the Indian economy? This question calls for an urgent answer. Read more here.

Managing Covid-19

How geographical mapping is helping India in its fight against Covid-19: From contact tracing to creating buffer zones around Covid-19 clusters, India is using mapping and location-tracking technology to fight the pandemic. Read here to understand how mapping the disease data through geographic information system (GIS) can assist policymakers and authorities during outbreaks, and what privacy concerns must inform such mapping.

Armed forces in coronavirus outbreak battle — their role, procedures for requisition: Providing aid to civil authorities, as and when called upon to do so, is a secondary task for the armed forces. It cannot replace the primary role of ensuring external security and operational preparedness. Read here to understand the role of the armed forces during a pandemic.

Understanding Covid-19

What does ‘recovered from coronavirus’ mean?

In mid-March, the number of patients in the US who had officially recovered from the virus was close to zero. That number is now in the tens of thousands and is climbing every day. But recovering from Covid-19 is more complicated than simply feeling better. Recovery involves biology, epidemiology and a little bit of bureaucracy, too. Read more here.

When is a Covid-19 patient discharged?

According to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), if laboratory results for the virus for suspect cases are negative, the discharge of such patients is guided by the clinical condition of the case. Such patients are monitored for 14 days. Read more here.