Govt must act fast to beat Covid’s spread in villages

The stringent lockdown declared in several states to contain the spread of coronavirus seems to be paying some dividend as is evidenced by the gradual decline of the daily caseload numbers, from a daily average of four lakh or above a week ago to below three lakh now. However, the daily death toll has shown no signs of easing; it hovers around 4,000 steadily for more than a week now.

It is in this background that we must see reports about the second wave targeting India’s villages, as admitted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting with state chief ministers a week ago. “I want to warn you about corona. The infection is spreading fast in villages,” the Prime Minister has been quoted as telling the chief ministers. And all the anecdotal evidence available points to the fact that rural India is finding it difficult to cope with it as everything is in short supply; the bodies that floated on river Ganga was an indication of the crisis that has gripped the villages.

It is going to be a long and tough game to play the virus in rural settings as every single factor is in its favour. Compared with the urban settings, the rural areas lack a health infrastructure. Testing hesitancy, which is proving to be a major hurdle in the path of the health workers to identify the trouble spots, is on the rise in the villages due to many factors. The lack of awareness about the fatal nature of the infection and the trust in quacks and their home remedies are going to be major obstacles in the efforts to contain the pandemic in rural areas. Taking these factors together, the recent fall in numbers gives a realistic person very little reason to be optimistic about it.

The government will have to quickly roll out a programme for the rural areas, and the lack of health infrastructure is going to be a major issue there. However, no challenge is insurmountable if there is political will. Top US public health expert on Covid-19 and former director of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Anthony Fauci, is on record saying India must put to use all its national resources, including the military, to fight and stop the virus spread. He has even gone on to suggest that the government make use of the services of the armed forces to get medical facilities available for its suffering population by building field hospitals. The government must consider the suggestion as it has little choice if it wants to save its massive rural population from falling victim to the virus.

The government must use all the tools available with it to convince the people into dropping their testing hesitancy and joining the governmental efforts. This is easier said than done but people following Covid protocol would be the most cost-effective and efficient line of defence against the pandemic. There are experts who warn of a more fatal third wave; but the government must find ways to manage the wolf which is already at the door.

The government will have to quickly roll out a programme for the rural areas, and the

lack of health infrastructure is going to be a major issue there. However, no

challenge is insurmountable if there

is political will.