India Coronavirus Dispatch: Families struggle to get Covid insurance claims

New strategy for tackling Covid in Delhi, Why UPSC insists on holding exams and three state see sustained drop in cases--news on how the country is coping with the pandemic

Insurers deny claims: Families across the country say that they’ve struggled to get insurance claims for Covid-19 treatment and have been turned away on multiple grounds. The reasons included the price charged by private hospitals, pre-existing ailments, or the fact that they suffered from ‘mild’ Covid-19. The pandemic has shown that private hospitals are unaffordable, public healthcare is inadequate and insurance is not helping people access either of those. Even those who are covered by insurance end up paying for their own Covid-19 treatment as a three-way conflict rages between insurance companies, private hospitals and government regulators over the billing of the treatment. Read more here

New strategy for tackling Covid in Delhi: A revised strategy for dealing with Covid-19 in Delhi, chalked out by an expert committee headed by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul, will focus on containing the spread in rural areas. In a meeting with the Delhi government, experts discussed certain areas which need to be in focus as part of the revised containment plan. A particular focus of the experts was a small rural area belt in the national capital where the spread of the disease has been observed. This is the second instance of an expert committee being formed to look into curbing the pandemic in Delhi and the its report is expected to be published soon. Officials said they reviewed all dimensions to monitor behaviour of people, hospital preparedness, and how containment strategies should move forward. Read more here

Why UPSC insists on holding exams: Even with just five days to go for the exam, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and aspirants are still locked in a battle over postponing the date. Aspirants have been running online campaigns for the exam to be delayed over rising Covid-19 cases. The UPSC, in its defence says it has spent Rs 50.39 crore on logistical preparations for the exam, so its postponement would cost the exchequer greatly. The other major argument is that exams like JEE and NEET are being conducted. Some officials even point towards the upcoming Bihar elections which are being held amidst a pandemic. Secondly, central and state governments are grappling with a shortage of civil servants and hence the UPSC cannot postpone the exams any further. Read more here

Tested negative, under 'house arrest': Residents of one of Chandigarh’s micro-containment zones moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging house arrest/confinement by the administration under the guise of curbing Covid-19. Approximately 35 people have been confined inside their homes despite the fact that they all tested negative for the virus. The area was declared a containment zone after some members of two families tested positive for Covid-19 on September 22. Even those who tested negative were not allowed to go into their verandahs for 5 days, prompting them to allege imposition of unfair house arrest. As per the UT’s micro-containment zone rules, residents of such areas are not allowed to come out from their houses and are provided basic amenities at their doorstep. Read more here

In Numbers

Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh see drop in cases: Over the last two weeks, the most consistent and significant decline in growth rates of new Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. The three states have been showing a dip in their growth rates for 2 months. While Tamil Nadu and Bihar have been seeing a growth rate of less than one per cent per day, Andhra Pradesh is almost reaching the same level. Bihar, in particular, has been adding less than 2,000 cases daily for September and was out of the list of top ten states with the highest caseloads on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, has reported between 5,000 and 6,000 new Covid cases a day since the start of August except for a couple of occasions. Till mid-September, Andhra Pradesh had been seeing over 10,000 cases a day but that has now come down to around 6,000 daily cases. Read more here