Protecting lives and livelihoods

From identification of disease clusters to deliberation on a renewed stimulus package for the economy, there are a number of things on the plate for the Central administration in the final leg of the national lockdown. The 21-day period has not only helped in reducing the steep rise in cases but provided a buffer period for the administration to enhance the health infrastructure by ramping up the preparedness levels. Digging deep into its own inventory, while activating the private sector to cooperate in this grim period, the Centre's primary concern has been the adequacy of the health sector to bear a steep rise in cases. With a known fact that its health infrastructure is nowhere close to the developed nations, India has utilised all its resources to restrict the spread. The administration went into overdrive to track each and every case whether it be a travel history or local transmission. Efforts have been taken to restrict any case of community transmission because if that occurs, not only will our healthcare sector be overburdened but it might come crashing down — a catastrophic scenario for the second-most populous country in the world. With the start of antibody tests in hotspots, ICMR is hoping to prepare a data inventory of confirmed clusters hosting infection that would allow the executive to take more concrete steps in lifting the lockdown smoothly. So far, what has been understood is that April 15 onwards, a staggered approach will be followed with districts posing more cases of infection bound to face extended restrictions. Given that social distancing is our only foolproof tool to fight the Coronavirus, even the districts that have reported low to no cases would be made to practice the same in the initial days following the end of lockdown. But as April 14 approaches, it is important to unveil a detailed plan of how India will cope with the pandemic with its staggering population heading out of their homes. The question is not just of people's safety, but economic safety as well. With all manufacturing units closed barring the essential ones and supply chain of non-essential items disrupted, the crisis has dawned not on the supply side but rather the demand side. As industries and factories resume work — whilst practising social distancing — the government has to inject some impetus for the economy to kickstart and achieve minimum sustainable cycle. A package of at least 10 per cent of our GDP must be pushed since India has to not just save lives but livelihoods as well.

The migrant labour crisis has already underlined the cons of a hasty lockdown decision even as it allowed India the much-required buffer period to plan ahead of events. The agriculture sector demands attention as the rabi harvest season is upon us and most of the migrant labourers who find seasonal work in these farms are stranded. Governments must offer remunerative incomes to farmers and ensure safe transportation and storage of farm produce which largely constitutes perishables. This will allay the mounting farm stress during the pandemic. Besides agriculture, the revival of markets to get the economy up and running is also necessary. Clearly, a multipronged approach is on the cards and Centre will have to ensure the interconnectedness between sectors to ensure that the country as a whole copes with the unprecedented crisis it faces today. Given how we are still reporting cases internally, there does not exist any question of opening doors to foreigners. We can barely afford to import another wave of cases from outside the nation. Even internal travel will have to be heavily regulated, giving primacy to social distancing culture that should witness people wearing masks when outside their homes. As dystopian as it may seem, the forced reality of prevention and social distancing is what will allow India to win the battle against COVID-19. At the heart of this massive effort would be a proactive administration ensuring the smooth functioning of all supply chains across sectors.