India Coronavirus Dispatch: Pvt hospitals overcharge despite govt orders

Foreign study goes for a toss, migrants left out of govt schemes, and five things India must do before it has a vaccine--news on how the country is dealing with the pandemic

Fleecing patients: A private hospital in Delhi offered a cover package worth Rs 4 lakh. Days after a patient was admitted, the bill came to Rs 7.5 lakh. Upon inquiry, an elaborate break-up of expenses was presented, some of which included things already mentioned in the hospital’s package! This was despite a Delhi government order putting a price cap on private hospitals. The daughter of the patient was soon involved in a long, arduous negotiation involving local lawmakers, civil society bodies and the hospital administration. At one point, she was told to pay the entire amount or take her mother from the hospital. Finally, the hospital gave in and offered government-approved rates. But she was informed that her mother was in an unstable condition, and soon succumbed to the disease. This, however, is not an isolated incident as private hospitals continue to overcharge. Read more here.

Foreign study goes for a toss: Indian colleges are now witnessing a rise in applications for admission to the current academic year. Delhi University has so far reported a 18 per cent hike in applications, while Sonepat-based O P Jindal Global University has seen an increase of 30 per cent. This is among the many consequences of the pandemic, as it has uprooted plans to study abroad. Not only is international travel shutdown because of the virus, but countries, especially the US, have restricted entry. Trump’s directives regarding foreign students added to the anxiety of those who were planning to study in foreign universities. Many don't see a point in attending online classes since they opted for foreign education for ‘exposure’. Read more here.

Long Read

Migrants fall through cracks: Migrant workers found their lives and livelihoods upended by the coronavirus-induced lockdowns. While the government announced a series of welfare schemes to cater to the needs of this group, many of them have been left out by the design of the policies. For example, workers from UP living as daily wage earners in Mumbai found that they were not eligible for free food grain since their Aadhar cards mention Mumbai as the permanent address. Many have not been able to avail any benefits since they do not have ration cards. Secondly the schemes leave out a huge section of workers who do not need free grains but are looking for employment and a steady income, neither of which MNREGA offers stably. Besides, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana has announced grain for 80 crore people but these are beneficiaries of NFSA and not stranded workers. Read more here.

Comment

A must-do list: A doctor and health researcher has compiled the five things India must do before it has a vaccine for the virus. First, he says, there should be a directory of all healthcare providers, in public and private sectors, and healthcare facilities available in the country. A population enumeration to identify demography would also be required. However, the 2011 census can fill in the gaps in information. An end-to-end tracking system for vaccines from factories to the end-user would be required to prevent tinkering with data and ensure actual vaccination. Digitise all the data pertaining to the above three and any additional data collected. Finally, the government must procure all resources necessary to ensure frontline vaccinators can relay real-time information of the exercise. Read more here.

Reworking strategies: India’s response to the pandemic has been better than the US’s insofar as the intent and signals regarding basics such as wearing masks go. In terms of imposing a harsh lockdown, the government did what it could. However, the fact still remains that India’s testing rate is abysmal. Besides, the focus should now shift to strengthening the public health infrastructure, ensuring people have adequate money to get by, and tackling rising joblessness. Health services, even in our most developed cities, are poor. “The message is clear: We cannot trust our government systems when it comes to our health, even though we run them,” says the writer. Read more here.

Analysis

What Mumbai’s sero-survey reveals: While the underlying paper for Mumbai’s sero-survey exercise is yet to be made public and there are limitations to the survey itself, the data is very important in drawing some crucial conclusions regarding the spread of the virus. According to the survey, 57 per cent of slum respondents had the antibodies indicative of recovery from Covid-19. If this data is extrapolated for the rest of the city (42 per cent of Mumbaikars live in slums), then a startling one-third of the city might have already been infected. This spread is much higher than New Delhi, New York and London. Thus, the virus is more widespread than previously believed. The next city-wide survey holds the key to our understanding about herd immunity. If prevalence in slums does not increase, it could mean that herd immunity in Mumbai’s slums has already been achieved. Read more here.

Understanding Covid-19

Stopping superspreaders: A new study, yet to be peer reviewed, is offering a simple solution to contain the spread of the virus: stop superspreading. Superspreading occurs when a person — who is at that stage of the virus where they shed the maximum amount of virus — participates in a large gathering. Findings of the study suggest that most people infected by the virus rarely spread it to anybody. However, it’s a very small percentage of people who spread to a huge number of people — mostly through superspreading. The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi is an example, while Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati is emerging as another. The study compares coronavirus to influenza and looks at their ‘shedding patterns’. The mathematical model suggests a disturbing pattern: Covid-19 is more amenable to superspreading than flu viruses. Read more here.