At a time when India is in the grip of a pandemic and when the economy, which was on a pause during a period of a very strict lockdown, is sputtering back to life, politics with the prevailing situation is best avoided. This applies to many states including Delhi, where it was decided by the local government that hospital beds would be reserved only for the people of the state. This decision was ethically wrong, for health may be a state subject according to the Indian Constitution, but treatment is not reserved for the people of a particular state. Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right and no one can be denied treatment at a particular place just because that person is a resident of another place. So it was sage on the Lieutenant Governor’s part to overturn this decision. But then to say that the overturning will lead to non availability of beds for the people of the national capital, amounts to shifting blame, is irresponsible politics and is best avoided. This is also not the time to give alarming statistics that there will be 5.5 lakh cases in Delhi alone by July. Creating panic is best avoided, especially when the number of recovered patients in the country is starting to exceed the number of patients currently affected by coronavirus. This is the time to cope with the crisis, ensure that the city-state’s medical infrastructure is not overwhelmed, which its being at present. This is the time to ramp up testing, because, from all accounts, this is one area in which Delhi is failing miserably. Why cannot the much-touted mohalla clinics be pressed into service in this regard? There are hundreds apparently. But the Delhi government also must be commended for deciding to explore every possible avenue to increase the number of hospital beds in the city to the optimum level. In this context, both the states and the Centre need to look into the exorbitant cost of treating Covid-19. If unscrupulous private hospitals are fleecing patients this must be put to a stop. Horror stories are being heard about patients having to pay Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh for treatment, which is unacceptable. In fact, this sudden explosion in cases in Delhi is surprising, considering cities such as Bengaluru and even Delhi’s satellite cities have fared much better in handling the crisis, even though in Bengaluru at least the population density will be more or less equivalent to that of the national capital. Obviously, something has gone wrong in the case of Delhi, just as in Mumbai, and it is time to learn from mistakes made and initiate corrective action.
That there would be a spike in cases after the lockdown started getting eased was expected. But however much the spike, India cannot afford another lockdown beyond containment zones. There is no disputing the fact that the lockdown dealt a hammer blow to the economy, which was anyway not in a good shape before the coronavirus reached the Indian shores. Subsequently, businesses have been hurt, jobs have been lost, salaries have been cut. Sector after sector has been decimated. Even now, although India is well into Unlock Phase 1, many sectors that have permission to open are yet to start functioning. So it is not that the unlocking will happen as suddenly as the lockdown did—at one swoop. There is also fear about certain “vulnerable” sectors like education, where a debate is raging on whether or not students should be allowed to return to campuses, with parents of younger children particularly worried about sending their wards back to school. The other problem facing the education sector is non payment of fees by many parents because their children have not been going to school, although many of them have been attending online classes. This is happening all across the country, thus threatening the livelihoods of teachers. A crisis like the current one cannot be overcome unless everyone behaves like the model citizen, and being a model citizen is not just about wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. It is also about fulfilling one’s duty to society, including apparently small things such as paying school fees. And being model citizens is what Indians need to be.