Seven long weeks have gone by, yet there appears to be diminutive clarity on whether the Covid-19 threat is on the rise or is now well under control; experts, government spokespersons and others appearing with regular alacrity on TV channels have been unable to diagnose the ailment, being over-zealous with the prognosis and prescriptions.
The elementary mistake by the media is that it has been discussing the crisis with doctors whose areas of core competence are neither public health nor social preventive medicine. Those representing the medical fraternity are primarily the ones connected with large money-raking private institutions, finding the opportunity apt to amply market themselves.
Pandemics and epidemics are best comprehended by public health doctors who work in the field, thereby, assessing first hand, the situation. For instance, the medical health officers of various civic bodies are far better acquainted with the ground reality, as opposed to the supposed experts, who, on a daily basis, pontificate on most channels. The role of specialists commences when a patient enters the hospital; prior to this, the scale and magnitude of the community spread can be determined solely by the health officers, assisted by their support staff.
The fact of the matter is, that so far, no public health authority has been featured on television—with the same degree of prominence as others from the medical circle—who have been viewing the unfolding scenario from a safe and secure distance, despite continuing to offer their thesis on how to go about neutralizing this deadly disease, whose cure is yet to be discovered. Clearly, the media is overawed with the sweep and spread of the dangerous virus, and has inadvertently been quoting the wrong people for the wrong cause. It is akin to asking a mechanical engineer to provide information on the construction of a road or a bridge, which is the preserve of a civil engineer.
The outcome is that many distinguished doctors are perennially furnishing recycled information, compounding the chaos that is daily created, following the elaborate and convoluted orders issued by bureaucrats, both at the Centre and in the states. Most of these circulars are contradictory to the claims of the health departments, merely contributing to the corona-phobia that has pathologically gripped the entire nation. In this crusade against the Covid-19 virus, politicians largely have come under the absolute influence of the babus surrounding them, projecting a disheartening and uncorroborated picture, with data which for being declared authentic, needs closer scrutiny.
The empirical statistics have very often painted notional presentations, which are bereft of credibility. In their overdrive to appear hands-on, the babus excavate information, and issue directives, with the main objective being to absolve themselves of any blame, if in the future, things go askew, rather than assist those who require help.
Not even a feeble attempt has so far been made to diligently analyse the data received from countries where the corona cases have been on the rise. Firstly, it should be determined, that those who have died in the United States and other countries, were indeed victims of Covid-19, and thus did not succumb to some other prior illness—what age-bracket did the deceased persons fall in? In any case, any person over 70 would be in the vulnerable zone.
Yes, some international specialists have opined that the elderly are always more susceptible to such an evolving infection. The figures that are being released by state and Central governments are insufficient for reaching any firm inferences. Therefore, there should be a greater attempt to collect more information on the subject.
There is an overall depressive fatigue that has set in due to this uninterrupted lockdown. Bureaucrats, arbitrarily, have been declaring specified areas as red zones yet have no explanation when this category is changed to any other classification. Citizens no longer must be kept in the dark about the goings-on, and a lockdown exit policy must be put in place before relaxations are declared. The permission granted to various states to open liquor shops can boomerang in a very major way. The inside story is that the babus convinced their political masters that this was essential, otherwise in the coming months, there would be no money to pay the salaries of the government employees.
Prices of liquor have been escalated up to 70%, without factoring in that this would, in multiple ways, hit the poor in particular. Contrary to the widely-held belief that alcohol consumption is dried-up by the affluent, the reality is, that it is those who buy pints and quarters, are the largest source of revenue for the governments. For instance, the poor man would now be paying Rs 170 for a quarter, which till recently used to cost him Rs 100. Those Rs 70 are priceless—when people are losing jobs or facing severe salary cuts—and would come out of the puny kitty, that otherwise, would be required for procuring basic rations for the family. The additional tax levied on alcohol amounts to robbing Peter to pay Paul.
In other words, the sale of alcohol has rebegun, not to provide respite for those in need to get away from the daily grind, but to collect revenue for the state exchequer. In these trying times, liquor shops have been permitted to remain open for longer hours than outlets dispensing milk. People want a forthright picture of what is happening instead of confusing signals emanating from the authorities. Between us.
The elementary mistake by the media is that it has been discussing the crisis with doctors whose areas of core competence are neither public health nor social preventive medicine. Those representing the medical fraternity are primarily the ones connected with large money-raking private institutions, finding the opportunity apt to amply market themselves.
Pandemics and epidemics are best comprehended by public health doctors who work in the field, thereby, assessing first hand, the situation. For instance, the medical health officers of various civic bodies are far better acquainted with the ground reality, as opposed to the supposed experts, who, on a daily basis, pontificate on most channels. The role of specialists commences when a patient enters the hospital; prior to this, the scale and magnitude of the community spread can be determined solely by the health officers, assisted by their support staff.
The fact of the matter is, that so far, no public health authority has been featured on television—with the same degree of prominence as others from the medical circle—who have been viewing the unfolding scenario from a safe and secure distance, despite continuing to offer their thesis on how to go about neutralizing this deadly disease, whose cure is yet to be discovered. Clearly, the media is overawed with the sweep and spread of the dangerous virus, and has inadvertently been quoting the wrong people for the wrong cause. It is akin to asking a mechanical engineer to provide information on the construction of a road or a bridge, which is the preserve of a civil engineer.
The outcome is that many distinguished doctors are perennially furnishing recycled information, compounding the chaos that is daily created, following the elaborate and convoluted orders issued by bureaucrats, both at the Centre and in the states. Most of these circulars are contradictory to the claims of the health departments, merely contributing to the corona-phobia that has pathologically gripped the entire nation. In this crusade against the Covid-19 virus, politicians largely have come under the absolute influence of the babus surrounding them, projecting a disheartening and uncorroborated picture, with data which for being declared authentic, needs closer scrutiny.
The empirical statistics have very often painted notional presentations, which are bereft of credibility. In their overdrive to appear hands-on, the babus excavate information, and issue directives, with the main objective being to absolve themselves of any blame, if in the future, things go askew, rather than assist those who require help.
Not even a feeble attempt has so far been made to diligently analyse the data received from countries where the corona cases have been on the rise. Firstly, it should be determined, that those who have died in the United States and other countries, were indeed victims of Covid-19, and thus did not succumb to some other prior illness—what age-bracket did the deceased persons fall in? In any case, any person over 70 would be in the vulnerable zone.
Yes, some international specialists have opined that the elderly are always more susceptible to such an evolving infection. The figures that are being released by state and Central governments are insufficient for reaching any firm inferences. Therefore, there should be a greater attempt to collect more information on the subject.
There is an overall depressive fatigue that has set in due to this uninterrupted lockdown. Bureaucrats, arbitrarily, have been declaring specified areas as red zones yet have no explanation when this category is changed to any other classification. Citizens no longer must be kept in the dark about the goings-on, and a lockdown exit policy must be put in place before relaxations are declared. The permission granted to various states to open liquor shops can boomerang in a very major way. The inside story is that the babus convinced their political masters that this was essential, otherwise in the coming months, there would be no money to pay the salaries of the government employees.
Prices of liquor have been escalated up to 70%, without factoring in that this would, in multiple ways, hit the poor in particular. Contrary to the widely-held belief that alcohol consumption is dried-up by the affluent, the reality is, that it is those who buy pints and quarters, are the largest source of revenue for the governments. For instance, the poor man would now be paying Rs 170 for a quarter, which till recently used to cost him Rs 100. Those Rs 70 are priceless—when people are losing jobs or facing severe salary cuts—and would come out of the puny kitty, that otherwise, would be required for procuring basic rations for the family. The additional tax levied on alcohol amounts to robbing Peter to pay Paul.
In other words, the sale of alcohol has rebegun, not to provide respite for those in need to get away from the daily grind, but to collect revenue for the state exchequer. In these trying times, liquor shops have been permitted to remain open for longer hours than outlets dispensing milk. People want a forthright picture of what is happening instead of confusing signals emanating from the authorities. Between us.
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