Six-point action plan
An unsettled WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had on Wednesday cited how the world had already "squandered the first window of opportunity" and "the time to act was actually a month or two months ago". His admonishment, however, did not mean a perpetual glare of pessimism. He simply wants the world to realise how Covid-19 had swept the world, causing more than 23,000 deaths and infecting more than half a million. But Tedros asserted how the world has a second chance. While praising lockdowns imposed by nations which has bought them a crucial time period, the WHO chief provided a list of six actions that countries can take.
Foremost is the expansion, training and deployment of healthcare workers. Needless to say, this involves complete support extended to them in the form of personal protective equipment — hazmat suits, N95 masks, etc. The Union government has earmarked Rs 15,000 crore for healthcare during the pandemic but the figure will have to be increased. Rs 50 lakh insurance cover for all frontline healthcare staff is already in place. As PM Modi said, those in white coats are incarnation of gods; there can be no shortcoming in support for them. Worse is when society begins to ostracise them and hence, we must pledge not to indulge in such immoral practices.
Secondly, Tedros urged for implementing systems to find suspected cases. India has so far traced nearly all its cases and quarantined them — testing and curing. No verified instance of community transmission has been recorded yet but that does not mean there cannot be one. Developing means to quickly track all cases and isolate them would be required. Government has set up hotlines for an emergency but responsiveness remains the key.
Thirdly, and most crucially, ramping up production of test kits and increased availability of the same. One of the prime reasons South Korea could flatten its transmission curve for Covid-19 was, in the words of South Korean Ambassador to India, Shin Bong-Kil, a vigorous regime of "trace, test, treat". Korea did not implement a lockdown but rather conducted 18,000 tests a day at their best to ensure a better picture of the spread. India has been on the other end of the continuum with lowest test figures in the world which is why a perpetual apprehension of masked figures exists. The 'Korean model' rests on concentrated testing of high-risk areas and clusters. Taking a cue from Korea, ICMR has invited manufacturers to supply 5 lakh antibody kits for diagnosis of infection and asked for a quotation on procurement of 7 lakh RNA extraction kits.
Fourthly, identification of facilities that can be transformed into Coronavirus health centres. A number of states have made efforts to designate hospitals and centres that can host those infected as well as those needed to be quarantined. While tests will reveal the figure of those infected, these dedicated centres would ensure that the virus stays put and not spreads to the community.
Fifthly, development of plans to quarantine cases. Their identification and mobility to quarantine centres have to be as per protocol which requires the government to be on its toes to quickly reach suspects and move them to isolation.
Lastly, suppressing the virus. A national lockdown is a great way to ensure suppression. We can win the battle if we know the figures and treat them in isolation while sanitising places to ensure that the virus does not remain on surfaces. A lockdown is futile if India fails to perform the aforementioned steps during one. Merely keeping people in their homes does not help the cause unless a comprehensive strategy, as recommended by the WHO chief, is implemented.
(Image from time.com)
