As India’s confirmed cases of coronavirus approach 1 million, blockades are re-imposing in some parts of the country as local governments try to protect the health system from being overwhelmed.
India reported nearly 30,000 new cases and 582 more deaths on Wednesday, bringing its totals to more than 936,000 cases and more than 24,000 deaths. The actual numbers, like elsewhere in the world, are likely to be much higher due to limited evidence and poor surveillance, experts say.
An Indian man attacks a female employee who asked him to wear a face mask
Indians line up to get a nasal swab test for coronavirus at Government Fever Hospital in Hyderabad, India on Wednesday July 15, 2020. India is the third nation most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo / Mahesh Kumar A.)
A two-week blockade was imposed beginning Thursday in Bihar, an eastern state with a population of 128 million and a fragile health system. Since Saturday, Bihar has logged more than 1,000 cases a day despite limited evidence.
Nearly 2.5 million poor migrant workers who had been stranded during India’s initial shutdown across the country have returned to the state after losing their jobs in big cities.
In Bangalore, a key technology hub in South India, where the offices of major tech companies like Amazon and Apple are located, the government ordered a one-week shutdown that began Tuesday night.
INDIA FLOODS, LANDSLIDES MUST BE AT LEAST 77 DEAD IN ASSAM STATE
According to experts, the initial blockade that the Indian economy received in June after the national blockade was relaxed is being stopped by these blockades located in high-risk areas. Economic indicators such as labor participation rates and electricity consumption have dropped this month compared to June, according to the Monitoring Center for the Indian Economy, an independent group of experts.
A woman receives a nasal swab to detect coronavirus at the government’s urban primary health center in Hyderabad, India on Wednesday July 15, 2020. India is the third nation most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo / Mahesh Kumar A.)
India’s minister for small and medium-sized businesses Nitin Gadkari said last week that experts forecast a loss of $ 133.3 billion in the coming year.
Authorities are now increasingly trying to focus their blockades to protect the economy from further losses, and nearly a dozen states are turning to localized blockade measures in areas where many cases have been detected. Public health officials call it “buffer zones” and they can be as small as a few houses on a street in New Delhi, the capital.
Jayaprakash Muliyil, an epidemiologist at Christian Medical College in South India, warned that the actual number of deaths from coronavirus in the country could be much higher due to the absence of a robust mechanism to report deaths in rural areas. “We don’t have the infrastructure,” he said.
Indians line up to get a nasal swab test for coronavirus at Government Fever Hospital in Hyderabad, India on Wednesday July 15, 2020. India is the third nation most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo / Mahesh Kumar A.)
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Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Institute of Global Health, said that with the acceleration of new cases, India’s strategy should focus on keeping the number of cases as low as possible and saving as many lives as possible.
“The standard material is the standard material: you have to continue testing and insulation … make sure there are few or no indoor gatherings,” he said.
Jha warned that India must ensure that it continues to purchase supplies and that it has sufficient beds for people who will need hospitalization in the coming days. “You can’t over-prepare,” she said.
