Need of the hour; Deep commitment and collective action by every Indian.
After causing extensive pain, agony, uncertainty and apprehensions and taking toll of over 3,290 lives in China (Over 81,394 were infected, 3,295 deaths and 72,000+ recovered), the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread its tentacles to the entire world (5,97,458 infected cases, 27,370 deaths and 1,33,373 recovered).
The most developed countries with state-of-the-art medical infrastructures, advanced research facilities and medical expertise like USA, England, Spain, France and worst hit Italy are reeling under the threat of COVID-19 and developing country India is no exception. It has raised the eyebrows of the medical community, health research bodies, and health policymakers across the globe how did China bring normalcy and contain the pandemic spread so fast. How Chinese health policymakers, Government put a break to COVID-19 disease which has threatened the existence of humanity. The model/plan of china executed in containing the disease, can it be replicated in other parts of the world needs to be deeply studied before being replicated in other countries.
China has made a significant milestone in its battle against COVID-19 and will lift the lock-down on Wuhan, on 8th April. From 19th March onwards the number of new cases dropping to zero in Wuhan. Wuhan is slowly limping back to normalcy in less than 10 weeks. The selectively Chinese government has opened its transport system, shopping malls and manufacturing units.
As a morale-boosting effort and to build confidence among the citizen of Wuhan, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan on 10th March.
Chinese model fight against Pandemic:
• The number of new infections began to drop in mid-February, and on 19th March, China declared zero new cases for the first time. A recent study carried out by mostly Chinese scientists, attributes China’s success in bringing down the number of new cases to effective intervention measures, such as suspending inter/intra-city public transport, social distancing, strict lockdown, closing of theaters/malls and banning public gatherings.
• Village doctors were mobilized to monitor temperatures, quarantine people and trace infections and their close contacts.
• Bureaucrats and police strictly enforced government policies. China introduced social forces to conduct “community policing”. Residents monitored each other’s activities.
• Incentives for government officials for strictly implementing government policies. Citizens of China have demonstrated very strong political loyalty.
• The Chinese government sealed off cities, apartment complexes and villages, placing security guards on patrol around the clock to monitor people’s movements. There have been even reports of residents being punished/arrested/penalized for stepping outside their homes or not wearing masks while at home.
• Strictly enforcing social distancing measures. Violators were punished. The Communist country engaged very strict measures.
• It is extremely difficult for other democratic countries to enforce these draconian containment measures as was done in China.
• All elective surgeries canceled, terminally ill patients discharged from hospitals to pave the way to manage COVID-19 cases (source: China News Week)
Yanzhong Huang, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Professor at Seton Hall University, New Jersey is of the strong view that Chinese model in containing the COVID-19 is very difficult to be replicated in other countries as Political leadership, policies, will of the governments and people mindset differs from country to country.
The question now is whether India in particular and the world at large can take lessons from China’s apparent success
Compiled by Pramod N Sulikeri
