India coronavirus dispatch: Fighting today, planning for tomorrow's battles

New economic models around health care, human rights and democracy during a pandemic, and whether the summer heat will kill the coronavirus - read these and more in today's India coronavirus dispatch

Here’s a round-up of important coronavirus-related articles in Indian publications. From planning for new economic models centered around health care, to value of human rights and democracy during pandemics, and whether the summer heat kill coronavirus — read these and more in today's India coronavirus dispatch.

Citizens Under Lockdown

The extraordinary men and women of these extraordinary times: Amid news of hoarding and misery, there are self-driven volunteers who have cut across barriers, across the country. Here are some of the people who have acted on the principle that a small act goes a long way. From cooking to ensure migrant labourers are fed, to working around the clock to bust WhatsApp myths, read here to know how Indians have responded to this extraordinary crisis.

Novel approaches as domestic violence rises during lockdowns: India’s lockdown came into force hours after being announced on March 24, 2020, leaving the vulnerable with no time or options to seek refuge. At 30.8 per cent, homes are the most prevalent place of violence against women, according to a study by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Ever since the lockdown started, women’s helplines have reported extremes of sharp rises and declines in distress calls. Read more here.

Long Reads

Coronavirus is breaking the back of India’s restaurant industry: As India went into a lockdown last month, restaurants were ordered shut, though they were allowed to service takeout and home delivery orders. As a result, almost overnight, millions of people went out of work, at least temporarily. And if the pandemic does not subside soon enough, industry experts warn, a substantial section of the workforce might not even have workplaces to go back to. Read more.

Opinion

Democracy should not permit a trade-off: Epidemics provide an opportunity to do away with inconvenient checks and balances institutionalised in the media, the judiciary, and civil society. The dismantling of constitutions and institutions will have a major impact on societies. Read here to understand whether decisions to control the pandemic need to be at the expense of human rights and democracy.

It is time for digital leaders to flatten the curve of infodemic: An ‘infodemic’ — an over-abundance of noxious or false-but-benign, and occasionally useful information on Covid-19 — has hit the country harder than the pandemic itself. If there ever was a time to demonstrate vision and leadership, this is the time for the digital leaders to flatten the curve of the infodemic before it flattens the most vulnerable populations on the planet. Read more here.

Managing Covid-19

Health can be a way out of the middle-income trap: The slowing of trade has left India in need for a new economic model once the coronavirus pandemic is over. Should India strive to break free of the middle-income trap by becoming a factory to the world, taking over from China? Or would it be better off prioritising the domestic economy, expanding its rather narrow base of mass consumption? The answer in the post-pandemic world may support the second strategy, with health infrastructure as its centerpiece. Read more here.

More than ventilators, India needs thousands of coronavirus contact-tracers: Contact tracing includes locating and monitoring those who have come in contact with coronavirus-positive patients. It involves locating all contacts of a positive patient, listing them, and then regularly following up on them for signs of symptoms and testing for infection. Contact tracing can be important to prevent transmission, in both containment and mitigation phases of the pandemic response. Read more here.

This is how Italy managed to bring its daily coronavirus toll down to lowest in 2 weeks: Even as Italy’s response to Covid-19 was strict and early, the pandemic killed over 15,000 people in there. For the next phase of dealing with Covid-19, Health Minister Roberto Speranza has outlined a series of measures for the gradual easing of restrictions until a vaccine is developed. These include continuation of social distancing and the use of masks, and strengthening of the health system to allow faster and more efficient treatment. Read more about Italy’s management and measures to contain the pandemic.

Understanding Covid-19

Will summer heat kill COVID-19 virus? Some trends, but experts advise caution: The temperature in several parts of India has crossed 30 degrees Celcius and is expected to touch 40 degrees in the northern regions in the next two weeks. What will it mean to the survival of the novel coronavirus? Read more here.

How can healthcare workers avoid recontamination of hands? Ideally, medical workers dealing with Covid-19 patients should be equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE), which includes masks, eye protection gear and gloves. Despite this, healthcare workers must take precautions to ensure they are not infected with Covid-19, and they do not pass the virus from one patient to another. Read more to understand why.

Can you get coronavirus from newspapers and groceries? Till now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not found a single incident of coronavirus transmission happening through contaminated surfaces or food. They maintain that the leading way this infection spreads is via person-to-person contact. Read here to understand why your newspaper and vegetables may not be a threat.

Video

Lessons from Indian history: Historian Srinath Raghavan elaborates on India’s experiences dealing with pandemics and other national emergencies, focusing in particular on three historical instances — the plague of 1986, the influenza pandemic of 1918-19, and India’s mobilisation for World War II. Watch the video here.