India coronavirus dispatch: Long-term strategy needed against Covid-19

From the impact of the lockdown on different sectors, to citizens in isolation, and the need for a robust healthcare infrastructure, read it all in today's India Covid-19 digest

A roundup of articles in Indian news publications, on how India is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. From the impact of the lockdown on different sectors, to citizens in isolation, and the need for a robust healthcare infrastructure, read it all here:

Expert Speak

Virus not disappearing after lockdown, long-term strategy needed, says expert

Bhramar Mukherjee, a biostatistician and data scientist, told The News Minute that the lockdown bought more time for the government and healthcare workers to prepare for the long fight against the virus. Read more here.
 

Long Reads

India’s corporate war rooms: Even as they grapple with the operational aspects of the crisis, many business leaders are bringing a beginner’s mind and experimenting. They are discovering slivers of opportunity and preparing for a post Covid-19 world. Read more here. 

ICMR Covid-19 testing strategy was flawed, suggests ICMR study: A recently published study by ICMR scientists indicates the council might have ignored its own analysis on the need for more aggressive testing. Read more here. 

Opinion

The announcement of a lockdown has not been matched by national strategy — on containing fallout for poor. Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes on the necessity of an economic stimulus that is truly meaningful, and health infrastructure push that inspires confidence. Read more here.

Conversation: How can India contain the economic impact of COVID-19?

“The government must focus on health and livelihood issues at the same time.” In a conversation moderated by Vikas Dhoot, Naushad Forbes, and M Govinda Rao spoke of ways in which India could tackle this humanitarian and economic crisis. Read more here. 

Citizens under Lockdown

'Money will last 2-3 more days. God knows what will happen after that': Many daily-wage labourers and workers have left the city on foot for their hometowns and villages hundreds of kilometres away. But many have not gone back and are still in the cities, with no work or income. Read more here. 
 

I, me, myself: The lockdown edit: Amid fears of Covid-19 and being housebound, people who are living on their own speak up about how they are coping with a lockdown. Read more here. 

Managing Covid-19

Blood tests to map the scale of India’s coronavirus outbreak: In an attempt to find the scale of the outbreak, India will soon start testing blood samples of people who do not have symptoms of the coronavirus disease. Read more here. 
 

Avoid ibuprofen, ICMR tells diabetes, hypertension, heart patients in Covid-19 FAQs: The advice follows a letter published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine suggesting ibuprofen could ‘aggravate’ Covid-19 infection in diabetes and hypertension patients. Read more here. 

Early studies claim heat, humidity will slow down Covid-19 spread. Some experts disagree: Epidemiologists warn that making a causal connection between a disease’s progression and temperature is fraught because it does not account for non-climatic factors such as human behaviour, capabilities of different health systems and variable government/administrative response. Read more here. 
 

Video

Harvard Professor Vikram Patel on Covid-19, anxiety and lockdown: Dr Vikram Patel, professor, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, says the stringent lockdown imposed to clamp down on the coronavirus outbreak in India has led to panic migration, defeating the very purpose of a clampdown. He talks about empathy not insensitivity, media responsibility and not ignoring those with chronic diseases, elderly, those living with mental health issues and our other vulnerable population. Watch the video here.