Tackling Covid-19: Critical Evaluation of India’s Response

Abstract

Today the entire world is observing an unprecedented health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Severely affected are the first world countries, which have the best of technology and healthcare

infrastructure. Most of them, like Italy, the US, Spain and Germany, have seen exponential growth patterns.

Despite the best possible efforts, almost no country has been able to flatten the curve convincingly. This

pandemic is more challenging than its predecessors because it is highly contagious and roughly three-fourth

of the infected people has not shown any known symptoms. The unavailability of quality testing kits makes

early detection difficult. India has not seen the worst part of this evil as yet, possibly due to timely measures

like behavioural interventions as well as movement and travel restrictions. Based on various studies that have

been considered to develop this analysis, the mortality rate in India is around 3.2 per cent among the diseased,

which is much less than the global rate. Due to drastic variations in public health infrastructure, demographic

pattern and geography, the spread of the disease in India is, not uniform. The current restrictions have

disrupted all economic activity, and the worst affected are the labourers and migrant workers. This is

undoubtedly a testing time for India, but if we have to avoid under-preparedness in another similar situation,

it depends on how India strengthens its public healthcare, legal and economic framework.