The economy of our country is being hurt due to the continuous lockdown, but if everything goes well, India may come back to life within a few weeks. It is not yet possible to reopen the schools, colleges, malls, cinemas, parks or other public places due to the danger of the coronavirus spreading ruthlessly with or without physical contact and it’s not going to be an easy job to get rid of it. Ending lockdown too soon could make thousand to die and waiting for a bit longer could break the backbone of the country’s economy, nowhere the question arises, are we really ready to end this lockdown?
Contact tracing
The initial few days are the most infectious ones if you catch the virus. So, it is necessary to catch the carriers early and test every person who comes in contact with the one carrying the virus. One way to deal with this is the Arogya Setu app but still it’s not reliable enough due to lack of users. A team of contact tracers is what is needed in such a situation.
Testing
Testing is the only method for the surveillance of the number of patients and the increasing number of cases. The US called one proposal demanding 22 million tests daily to cover the entire population within two weeks. So going with the same equation can India do 100 million tests every day? Or at least 1 million tests per day keeping in mind the vast population density of the country?
Inadequate testing is the cause of the quick spreading of the virus and it can never be stopped if only people with symptoms are tested as 69% of the corona positive patients show no symptoms at all! So the super healthy people should be tested more because they are the ones who are spreading the disease unknowingly.
Protection of the health staffs
Health workers are being called the “frontline warriors” and they are the ones who have the highest possibility of catching the disease! If they are working tirelessly to cure every patient selflessly, then it is the responsibility of the government to ensure them with every possible protection, medicines and the equipment that they need without risking their lives.
Isolate with dignity
It is not only necessary but rather compulsory to isolate the corona positive patients away from their closed ones to ensure the minimum transmission of the disease. But shutting them up in unhygienic places or bundling them under police escort is totally unjustified. It often results in the hiding and running away of people with symptoms from the quarantine centres leading to dangerous probabilities of huge transmission from one to another.
Adopt the new ‘normal’ and build trust
The new life as assured by the government includes avoiding crowded places, wearing a mask, frequently washing and sanitizing our hands, getting body temperature checked and most obvious of all, proper social distancing.
Along with following these measures as asked by the government, building trust and keeping faith in the government, health workers and the police is what will develop a perfect democracy with clear and regular communications which is extremely essential during this difficult period.
