E-Paper
Covid-19: What you need to know today
The US President touted the malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a wonder cure but several studies and opinions from experts have recommended against its use.
The US was set to temporarily stop the issuance of green cards (initially for 60 days, according to US President Donald Trump) but will not institute an immigration ban, as Trump had initially threatened.
An anti-immigration and anti-immigrant stance was at the heart of Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign, and with elections due this year in the US, his motivations are clear.
Trump couched his moves as an effort to prevent Americans losing jobs to foreigners, but the fact is, businesses roiled by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and the lockdowns it has necessitated — in the absence of a cure, this seems to be the only way — are merely laying off people, not replacing American workers with foreign ones.
The US President touted the malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a wonder cure but several studies and opinions from experts (including one on Tuesday from a panel of US experts asked to weigh in by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, headed by Dr Anthony Fauci) have recommended against its use. In India, too, the Indian Council of Medical Research said a clinical trial to judge the efficacy of the wonder drug doesn’t make sense simply because there isn’t any evidence that HCQ is a good prophylaxis.
Isolation, quarantines, and lockdowns seem to be the best prophylaxis at this point in time, although the economic consequences are something governments will have to live with — and address by announcing relief and stimulus packages. India has announced a relief package aimed at the most vulnerable, and its central bank has infused liquidity into the system and ensured that too many loans won’t go bad, but the government is yet to announce a package, although there are reports that one was discussed during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at the Prime Minister’s residence on Wednesday.
The current lockdown in India lasts till May 3, though there has been some opening up in terms of business activities — especially in areas with not too many cases of Covid-19.
Last week, an analysis by Hindustan Times found that the 170 districts classified as red zones by the health ministry are also important centres of commercial activity. Another analysis has found that 90% of India’s air travellers start their journeys from an airport located in a red zone. Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad are all in the red zone (if not entirely, then at least significant parts of the cities are).
There have been reports including one in this newspaper, that interstate air travel may not be opened up immediately after May 3, even if there is no further extension of the lockdown. This data explains why it’s a bad idea to open up air travel when the pandemic is still raging through some cities (Mumbai and Ahmedabad, especially, have seen a rapid increase in cases over the past few days). Another city that has seen the number of cases soar is Indore, which, not too long ago, was winning awards for being India’s cleanest city. Interestingly, the primary reason seems to be a violation of the lockdown.
That the fight against Covid-19 isn’t easily won is evident in the experience of Agra — whose initial efforts at fighting the disease’s spread were so successful that they gave birth to a so-called Agra model. On Wednesday, the number of Covid-19 cases in the city of the Taj crossed 300 . It is equally evident in the case of Kerala: 19 cases were recorded on Tuesday, after only 2 and 6 were reported on Sunday and Monday respectively. The state, which currently tests around 624 people per million of its population, plans to start community testing and strictly enforce the lockdown.
It’s almost become a cliché now, but the only things that work seem to be widespread testing, and staying in.
