India is among the rare countries in the world that have remained much below the dagger mark established by the dangerous Chinese model in the spread of the novel coronavirus.
With 173 cases in 18 days since the outbreak started spreading properly, India finds itself in the company of smaller city-states like Hong Kong and Singapore – both of which were quick to apply lessons they had learnt from the 2013 SARS outbreak.
“The commitment from the Indian government and the PMO has been enormous… I am very impressed that everyone has been mobilised,” Henk Bekedam, WHO representative to India, said recently.
The coronavirus infection leads to SARI or severe acute respiratory infections, which involves the history of a fever higher than 38 C° and cough for over 10 days. It necessitates hospitalisation. Most SARI cases need intensive care unit (ICU) admissions with ventilator support.
Severe forms of SARI include severe pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and septic shock. These are the cause of deaths from coronaviruses, including coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Middle-east Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).
The government on Thursday banned all international commercial flights from landing in India for a week starting March 22 and instructed states to enforce a work-from-home protocol for all private sector employees, except essential services, as part of a raft of measures aimed at staving off the coronavirus epidemic that has claimed four lives in the country.
In an advisory, the Centre also advised children below 10 and citizens above 65 – except government servants, medical professionals and public representatives – to stay at home and not “venture out”.