COVID-19

During Unlock 1.0, a family of two, who had been stuck out of state, arrived in Chennai. The very next morning they heard their doorbell ring. It was Vijay. He had come to enquire about their well being. Once Vijay came to know they had travelled last evening, he promptly took their details and stuck a green sticker given by the Corporation on their door, stating that members of this family would be under home quarantine. He briefed them on what to do for the next 14 days, while they would remain quarantined. Over the next 14 days, Vijay would…

With the surge in COVID cases, Karnataka government recently announced that asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients need not get admitted to hospitals and may only need to go into home isolation. On July 4, the Department of Health and Family Welfare issued guidelines on home isolation. Following are these guidelines, specifying which categories of patients are eligible, and the protocols for their isolation and release. The persons who have tested COVID positive shall be permitted to be in "home isolation" on meeting the following conditions: Only those who are asymptomatic or mild symptomatic shall be allowed to be in isolation…

India employs 90% of its workforce within the informal labour sector. According to ILO estimates, four million workers are employed as domestic workers (of which three million are women). According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, more than 10 million people are registered as street vendors. The NSSO survey findings from 2011-12 highlights that there are 37.4 million home-based workers in India. With limited laws and policies governing them they are often left at the mercy of their employers, who have become their proxy social security providers during the pandemic. Over the span of the last three…

As COVID-19 cases are steeply rising in Bengaluru, some citizen groups are demanding pedestrian- and cycling-friendly streets, that would help ensure social distancing in public spaces. For a start, they have sent a proposal to the state government and BBMP, specifically asking for three market streets - Commercial Street, Gandhi Bazaar and Malleswaram 8th Cross - to be closed to vehicles and be made pedestrian/cycling-friendly. The proposal was sent by the NGO Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF), and endorsed by groups like Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), Malleshwaram Swabhimana Initiative, Bangalore Apartments’ Federation, CIVIC, Jhatkaa.org, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy…

Even when the howling wind and torrential rain brought by Cyclone Amphan was causing havoc around her on May 20, Sabita Sardar was not afraid. “We are used to dealing with bad weather. I wasn’t feeling scared. In fact, those who live in concrete homes were more scared,” she said. For 40 years now, Sabita has been living on the streets of Gariahat, a popular market area in south Kolkata. That day, when the super cyclonic storm passed through West Bengal’s capital city, Sabita and a few other homeless women sat huddled together in her tricycle cart under the Gariahat…

On July 8th, the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai’s figures showed 87,513 COVID positive patients in the city.  59,238 people have shown symptoms and are awaiting test results. Mumbai continues to be the worst-affected in Maharashtra and newer hotspots in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region such as Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli are mushrooming. The government is struggling to ramp up health infrastructure even as complaints of lack of ambulances, beds, and other health facilities mount. Here’s a step-by-step guide on what to do if you are tested positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai:  When to worry: The onset of symptoms is usually between 2…

Pre-Covid, Delhi's crematoriums used to be littered with heaps of withered marigold, broken bits of earthen pots, tetrapac containers containing ghee and mineral water bottles. Today, even as COVID has made cremation of bodies a challenge in itself and sharply restricted attendance at funerals, the garbage dumped at these sites is becoming dangerous -- consisting mainly of biomedical waste as people carelessly strew their PPE body suits, masks, gloves, shoe covers etc that they wore to the funeral. Such are the proportions of the problem that on June 22nd, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation slapped a Rs 50,000 penalty on the Arya Samaj…

With around 25,000 positive cases, the city of Chennai has not yet flattened the COVID curve. As more and more people are affected by the virus, the basic questions around getting a test done and choosing the right hospital still remain unanswered for many. The result: as soon as the tests return positive, panic grips the patient and their family members, and they are left struggling in the absence of proper information. "Many of the COVID -19 deaths in Chennai are due to the lack of treatment at the right time. This is a crucial time for every citizen to…

Soon after a COVID patient was identified in a gated-community in Chennai, panic struck other residents living in the housing society. The patient’s family was caught unawares as their flat was sealed, and they ran out of essentials. The apartment association swung into action at this point and arranged for essentials upon the family’s request. That, however, is not the only to-do in such circumstances. Although panic during a health emergency is unavoidable, it is highly advisable for every apartment community to have an action plan ready. From forming a crisis team to arranging essentials for all residents in the…

In the one week between June 28 and July 5, Bengaluru's COVID-19 count more than tripled, with 7240 new cases. The surge in cases has overburdened the city's healthcare capacity, and as a result, there have been many reports of patients not finding hospital beds or treatment on time. This has led to panic and confusion about what one should do on testing COVID-positive. “The panic and fear of COVID is actually worse than COVID itself. That’s what we have to address before anything else,” says Dr Giridhara R Babu, Professor, Head-Lifecourse Epidemiology, Indian Institute of Public Health. Dr Giridhar…