The government cannot afford to let the disease take its own course.

There is no slowing down of the number of Coronavirus cases in the country. In fact there a sharp increase over the past few weeks and the daily infection rate is now almost 80,000 per day which is the highest in the world.

Yet, these figures could be misguiding. First, the testing rate in the country is abysmally low at 18,000 per million which is perhaps the lowest among the large nations even though we have a population next only to China. There is every possibility that more testing would result in much larger number of detected cases.

Secondly, there are reports that in a large number of cases the cause of the death is not given as Covid but some other ailment with which the victim may have been suffering. There is no dearth or complaints where relatives of the victims have pointed out that the deceased was not tested for coronavirus.

While we in India are still dealing with the first wave of covid, which does not appear to abate, several western countries are witnessing the second wave which in some cases is reported to be more severe. Even in countries like New Zealand which has declared itself Covid free, fresh cases have come up despite all precautions.

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Also Read: Do Not Blame Everything on the Pandemic

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An even more worrying fact about the spread of pandemic in India is the recent trend which shows that the disease is now travelling to rural areas which lack even basic health facilities.

According to an official survey, now 50 per cent of new positive cases are being reported from 538 of the country’s 739 districts classified as ‘mostly rural’ and ‘entirely rural’ districts.

With a majority of our population living in rural and semi rural areas, and poor health infrastructure, there is greater risk of victims losing lives in these areas. Added to this is the resistance from villagers to get tests done. Even in a progressive state like Punjab, health teams have been debarred from entering villages in parts of Majha on the grounds that perfectly healthy people are taken to hospitals “who don’t return alive”. This is despite the aggressive awareness drives launched by the government.

Experts say that there is no indication of the number of new infections declining in the near future. The pandemic has already led to huge sufferings and losses. One of the worst affected are the unorganised labour.

Lakhs of migrants labourers who had gone back to their villages are now keen to come back because of lack of employment in their states. Official figures pertaining to manrega show a huge jump in the number of those wanting work on daily wages. However that also is restricted at 100 days in a year.

The industry, particularly the small and medium enterprises, which were also the worst hit, are still not able to resume operations because of the slowdown of the economy. While economy was already on the way downhill before the lockdown, mainly due to the after effects of demonetisation and the poor roll out of the GST, the pandemic has struck a body blow. The sector, which is the biggest employer, continues to struggle and with the growing number of covid cases, there is unlikely chance of an early revival.

The government, on its part, appears to have washed away its hands in enforcing strict rules to check the spread of the virus. Initially it has come out with a heavy hand and had imposed strict lockdown all through the country when the number of positive cases was merely 500. Now with the total figures crossing 38 lakhs, it has been constantly lifting restrictions apparently in its efforts to revive the economy.

However, the government cannot afford to let the disease take its own course. While there is absolutely no doubt that economy needs to be revived and a balance has to be struck, government has to enforce rules which it thinks are necessary to contain the spread of the virus without affecting the economy.

There is no doubt that the citizens need to be more responsible and must abide by their social duty towards fellow citizens. Unfortunately that is not the case in our country. There are innumerable instances of people organising social functions and parties on weekends despite the regulations and advise from the medical experts.

Equally condemnable is the irresponsible behaviour of a large section of our population in not wearing masks or maintaining social distance. The law enforcing authorities should be empowered and directed to impose strict fines on the violators. Similarly these agencies must ensure social distancing. Such steps are not going to adversely affect the economy.

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Also Read: How many people have died of Covid-19 till 8 am this morning?

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The government, on the other hand, must identify the most vulnerable sections of society – like those above 65 years of age and suffering from other diseases like diabetes and heart conditions. Such persons should be strictly asked to remain indoors and those violating should be imposed penalty. Alternatively their close relatives must be made to pay a fine.

Government can take help of social and voluntary organisations to enforce the rules. Even relatives of such persons should be counselled for not letting them move outdoors. After all it’s a joint fight to overcome the biggest threat of the century. 

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