Safety measures necessary after lockdown
NEWDELHI: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.
“Since it is not possible to 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 government had identified 10 such 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 interthe 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 the important objective of 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,”
But he also pointed to the other side of the debate.
“The reverse migration that we seen in past few weeks is unprecedented. This is one of major side-effects of the 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.
“Movement should be in select groups after they have been approved by the authorities. Let clusters move, like army convoys do, especially agriculture workers. It will also help contain the risk of infection. Prioritise who is allowed to move, and they should be screened before movement, even if it requires aggressive testing to know the extent of infection,” Pandav added.