Safety measures necessary after lockdown
nNEWDELHI:PUBLIC health experts have welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion of a staggered lifting of the lockdown — but only if it is accompanied by a set of safety measures.
In his interaction with chief ministers on Thursday, the PM said the Centre and states must work together to formulate an exit plan from the lockdown, with the staggered re-emergence of citizens.
The national lockdown ends on April 14.
“Sinceitisnotpossibleto keep a country as huge as India under perpetual lockdown, and blanket withdrawal is not advisable at this stage of transmission, the next best option is to consider lifting it in a staggered manner,” says Pradip Chakraborty, senior advisor, Centre for Public Health and Food Safety.
Chakraborty said the areas that have reported a high number of cases — or high-risk clusters — should stay in lockdown. “These are vulnerable pockets and need special government focus, or it can defeat the whole purpose of implementing the lockdown.”
Earlier this week, the governmenthadidentified10such high-risk clusters.
Experts say that the other factors in decision-making must be an analysis of how the move will affect the transmission curve, and of whether India is better prepared to deal with a likely surge in cases. While the lockdown has reduced human interthemajorside-effectsofthe and thus opened the possibility of India “flattening the curve” of infections, it has come at an economic cost. The government’s challenge is in striking the right balance.
CS Pandav, former president, India Public Health Association, said the lockdown serves theimportantobjectiveof breaking the chain of transmission. “If people do not travel, the chances of those infected infecting others will be cut down. Now that we have taken this decision, we must ensure the gains aren’t reversed, and for that, withdrawal in a measured way is the solution,”
Buthealsopointedtothe other side of the debate.
“The reverse migration that weseeninpastfewweeksis unprecedented. This is one of move. This is also an important time in the agricultural cycle. Staggered lockdown is needed — otherwise the country will have super shortage of grains in months to come,” he says.
The solution, according to him, lies in letting movement of workers only in clusters, that too after thorough screening.
“Movementshouldbein select groups after they have been approved by the authorities.letclustersmove,like army convoys do, especially agriculture workers. It will also help contain the risk of infection. Prioritise who is allowed to move,andtheyshouldbe screened before movement, even if it requires aggressive testing to know the extent of infection,” Pandav added.