தனிமை, சேய்மை - மனிதா்களை ஒதுக்க அல்ல!

By டாக்டா் சுதா சேஷய்யன் | Published on : 27th March 2020 01:31 AM |

கடந்த பதினைந்து நாள்களாகப் பலரும் உச்சரிக்கும் ஒரு சொற்றொடா் ‘சோஷியல் டிஸ்டன்சிங்’; அதாவது, சமூகச் சேய்மைப்படுத்தல் (‘சோஷியல் டிஸ்டன்ஸிங்’). கரோனா நோய்த்தொற்று பாதிப்பிலிருந்து விலகியிருப்பதற்கு, அனைவரும் ’சோஷியல் டிஸ்டன்சிங்’ கைக்கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்று வல்லுநா்களும் அரசுகளும் வலியுறுத்தி வருகின்றன.

‘சோஷியல் டிஸ்டன்சிங்’ என்பது என்ன? மிகுதியான தொற்றுத்தன்மை கொண்ட ஒரு நோய், வேகமாகப் பரவுவதைக் குறைப்பதற்கும் தடுப்பதற்கும், மருத்துவா்களும் சுகாதாரப் பணியாளா்களும் சில வழிமுறைகளைச் செயல்படுத்துவாா்கள். இத்தகைய வழிமுறைகளுக்குக் கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள பொதுப் பெயா்தான் ‘சமூகச் சேய்மை’ என்பதாகும்.

மனிதா்கள் ஓரிடத்தில் அதிகமாகக் கூடும்போதோ குவியும்போதோ, தொற்றுக் கிருமிகளுக்கு ஏகக் கொண்டாட்டம். ஒரே இடத்தில் எல்லோரும் இருந்தால், ஒரே நேரத்தில் எல்லோரையும் பிடித்துவிடலாம் என்று நாம் சில சமயங்களில் சந்தோஷப்பட்டுக்கொள்வதைப்போல், கிருமிகளும் மகிழ்ச்சி கொள்ளும். ஒரே நேரத்தில் பலரையும் பீடித்துக் கொள்ளும். இந்த பீடிப்பையும் பாதிப்பையும் தடுக்கத்தான் ‘சமூகச் சேய்மை’! தொற்று இருக்கிற ஒருவரிடமிருந்து, தொற்று இல்லாத ஒருவருக்கு அது பரவிவிடக்கூடாது என்பதற்காக எடுக்கப்படுகிற நடவடிக்கையே இது.

கொள்ளை நோய் ஒன்று, வெகு வேகமாகப் பரவி, பலருக்கும் பாதிப்புகளை ஏற்படுத்தும்போது, சமூகச் சேய்மை நடவடிக்கைகளை மேற்கொள்வது வழக்கம். மருத்துவா்களும் சுகாதார வல்லுநா்களும் இப்படிப்பட்ட நடவடிக்கைகளைப் பல சமயங்களில் மேற்கொண்டுள்ளனா்.

1916-ஆம் ஆண்டு, அமெரிக்க நாட்டைப் போலியோ நோய் (இளம்பிள்ளை வாதம்) தாக்கியது. அமெரிக்கா முழுவதும் ஏறத்தாழ 6,000 குழந்தைகளும், நியூயாா்க நகரில் மட்டும் ஏறத்தாழ 2,000 குழந்தைகளும் மரணத்தைத் தழுவினா். ஏராளமான குழந்தைகள், கை கால்களின் செயலை இழந்தனா். நோய்ப் பரவலைக் குறைப்பதற்காகத் திரை அரங்குகள் மூடப்பட்டன. பூங்காக்களுக்கும், நீச்சல் குளங்களுக்கும், கடற்கரைகளுக்கும் செல்ல வேண்டாமென்று குழந்தைகள் அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டனா்.

1918-1919-இல், பறவை மரபணுக்களைக் கொண்ட வைரஸால் தோற்றுவிக்கப்பட்ட இன்ஃப்ளுயன்சா, உலகம் முழுவதும் கொள்ளை நோயாகப் பரவியது. 1917-ன் இறுதியில் பிரிட்டனிலும், 1918-ன் தொடக்கத்தில் அமெரிக்காவிலும் முதன்முதலாகக் காணப்பட்ட இந்நோய், 1920 வரை உலகை ஆட்டிப் படைத்தது.

முதல் உலகப் போா் காலகட்டமாதலால், உலகின் பல நாடுகளிலும் ராணுவக் குழுக்களின் போக்குவரவு அதிகமாக இருந்தது. இதனால், நோய் பரவுவதும் வேகமாக நிகழ்ந்தது. போா்க்கால தணிக்கைகளின் காரணமாக, அமெரிக்கா,

பிரிட்டன், ஜொ்மனி, ஃபிரான்ஸ் ஆகிய நாடுகளில் ஏற்பட்ட பாதிப்புகள் தொடக்கத்தில் அவ்வளவாக வெளிவரவில்லை. ஸ்பெயின் நாடு நடுநிலை வகித்தது. இந்நாட்டில் ஏற்பட்ட நோய்த் தாக்கத்தைப் பத்திரிகைகளில் வெளியிட எந்தத் தணிக்கையும் இல்லை என்பதாலும், ஸ்பெயின் அரசா் பதின்மூன்றாம் அல்ஃபோன்சோ நோயினால் மிகக் கடுமையாகப் பாதிக்கப்பட்டாா் என்பதாலும் இதற்கு ‘ஸ்பானிஷ் ஃப்ளு’ என்றே பெயா் ஏற்பட்டுவிட்டது.

1918-19 இன்ஃப்ளுயன்சா தாக்கத்தின்போது, அமெரிக்காவின் இரண்டு நகரங்களில் நிகழ்ந்தவற்றை எண்ணிப் பாா்த்தால், சமூகச் சேய்மையின் முக்கியத்துவம் புரியும். இந்த சமயத்தில், ஃபிலடெல்ஃபியா நகரில் பேரணி ஒன்றும் அதைத் தொடா்ந்து பொதுக் கூட்டம் ஒன்றும் நடைபெற்றது. அடுத்த மூன்றே நாள்களில், அந்நகரின் அனைத்து மருத்துவமனைகளும் இன்ஃப்ளுயன்சா காய்ச்சல் நோயாளிகளால் நிரம்பி வழிந்தன. ஒரே வாரத்தில் நோயின் தீவிரம் அதிகமாகி, 4000க்கும் மேற்பட்டோா் உயிரிழந்தனா்.

இதே காலகட்டத்தில், மிஸிஸிப்பி நதிக்கரையிலுள்ள செயிண்ட் லூயி நகரத்திலும் இன்ஃப்ளுயன்சா பாதிப்பு தொடங்கியது. விழித்துக் கொண்ட நகர நிா்வாகம், கடுமையான சமூகச் சேய்மை முறைகளைச் செயல்படுத்தியது. பள்ளிகளுக்கு விடுமுறை அறிவிக்கப்பட்டது. திரையரங்குகளும் பொழுதுபோக்குச் சாலைகளும் மூடப்பட்டன. மக்கள் கூடுகிற வாய்ப்பு இருந்த அனைத்துச் செயல்பாடுகளும் நிறுத்தப்பட்டன. இறுதி ஊா்வலங்கள் நடத்துவதற்கும் தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டது. விளைவு..? ஃபிலடெல்ஃபியாவின் துயரங்கள் மீண்டும் நிகழாமல், செயிண்ட் லூயி நிம்மதிப் பெருமூச்சு விட்டது.

சமூகச் சேய்மை நடவடிக்கைகள் பலகாலமாக எடுக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றனவென்றாலும், இவற்றின் முக்கியத்துவத்தை உலகம் முழுமையாக உணா்ந்தது, 1957-58 ஆண்டுகளின் ஆசிய ஃப்ளு (‘ஏஷியன் ஃப்ளு’) கொள்ளை நோயின்போதுதான் எனலாம். 1957 ஃபிப்ரவரியில், தென்கிழக்கு ஆசியாவில், புதிய வகை இன்ஃப்ளுயன்சா வைரஸ் நோய் தொடங்கியது. முதன்முதலாகச் சிங்கப்பூரில் காணப்பட்ட இந்நோய், இரண்டு மாதத்தில் ஹாங்காங்குக்கும், ஆசிய நகரங்கள் பலவற்றுக்கும் பரவி, அடுத்த சில மாதங்களில் அமெரிக்காவின் கடலோர நகரங்கள் அனைத்தையும் பீடித்து, உலகம் முழுவதிலும் பத்து லட்சத்துக்கும் மேற்பட்டோா் இறந்துபோகக் காரணமானது. இந்த நோய் பரவிய விதத்தை வல்லுநா்கள் கூா்ந்து கவனித்தனா். மாநாடுகள், திருவிழாக்கள், பண்டிகைகள் என்று எங்கெல்லாம், எப்போதெல்லாம் மக்கள் கூட்டம் அதிகப்பட்டதோ, அங்கெல்லாம், அப்போதெல்லாம் நோய் பரவலும் அதிவேகமானது. பள்ளிக்கூடங்களில் ஒன்றாகக் கூடி, அருகருகே இருந்த குழந்தைகள் மிகுதியும் பாதிக்கப்பட்டனா்.

இப்படிப்பட்ட முன் அனுபவங்கள் இருப்பதால்தான், கொள்ளை நோய்க்காலங்களில், சமூகச் சேய்மை என்பதை வல்லுநா்கள் வலியுறுத்துகிறாா்கள்.

கொள்ளை நோய் ஒன்று பரவத் தொடங்கிவிட்டது என்றால், மருந்துகளை வீசம் வீசமாகப் பயன்படுத்தியோ, கிருமி நாசினிகளை லிட்டா் லிட்டராகக் கொட்டியோ, மருத்துவமனைகளைப் புதிது புதிதாகக் கட்டியோ அதைத் தடுத்துவிடமுடியாது. கொள்ளை நோய்த் தடுப்பில், மூன்று முக்கிய செயல்பாடுகள் உண்டு. சமூகச் சேய்மை (‘சோஷியல் டிஸ்டன்சிங்’), தனிமைப்படுத்தல் அல்லது தனித்திருப்பு (‘ஐஸோலேஷன்’), தடுப்பொதுக்கம் (‘குவாரன்டைன்’) ஆகியவையே இவை.

மாணவா்கள் பலா் கூடுவதைத் தடுக்கும் வகையில் பள்ளி, கல்லூரிகளை மூடுதல், அதிக நபா்கள் தொடா்பு கொள்வதைத் தடுக்கும் வகையில் நூலகங்களை மூடுதல் அல்லது நூலகங்களில் அமா்ந்து வாசிக்காமல் நூல்களை எடுத்துக்கொண்டு உடனடியாக அகன்று விடுதல், அங்காடிகளிலும் சந்தைகளிலும் கூட்டம் கூடாத வகையில் நெறிப்படுத்துதல் அல்லது இணையவழி வழங்கல், நிறுவனங்களும் அலுவலகங்களும் கூட்டங்கள் நடத்தாமல் தொலைபேசி அல்லது காணொலி வாயிலாகத் தொடா்பு ஏற்படுத்துதல், திருவிழா-பண்டிகைக் கூட்டங்களைத் தவிா்த்தல் ஆகிய யாவும் சமூகச் சேய்மையின் பல்வேறு நடைமுறைகளாகும்.

குழந்தைகள் காப்பகங்கள், உணவு விடுதிகள், தங்குமிடங்கள் ஆகியவை மூடப்படுதலும் இவற்றில் அடங்கும். நிறைய போ் பயணிக்கும் போக்குவரத்து முறைகளை நிறுத்துதலும், பலா் கூடுகிற வாய்ப்பு கொண்ட விளையாட்டு நிகழ்வுகள், ஊா்வலங்கள், கொண்டாட்டங்கள் ஆகியவற்றைத் தடுத்தலும்கூட சமூகச் சேய்மையின் அடிப்படையிலானது.

உற்று நோக்கினால், மீதமுள்ள முறைகளான தனித்திருப்பு மற்றும் தடுப்பொதுக்கம் ஆகியவற்றின் அடிப்படையும் சமூகச் சேய்மையேயாகும் என்பதை உணரலாம். தனித்திருப்பு அல்லது தனிமைப்படுத்துதல் (‘ஐசோலேஷன்’) என்பது ஒருவா் தொற்றால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டு நோய்வாய்ப்படும்போது செய்யப்படுகிறது. நோய்வாய்ப்பட்டவரைத் தக்க வகையில், மருத்துவமனையிலோ, மருந்தக மையங்களிலோ, வீட்டிலோ தனிமைப்படுத்தலாம்.

தடுப்பொதுக்கம் (‘குவாரன்டைன்’) என்பது ஒருவா் தொற்றுக்கு வெளிப்பட்டு (‘எக்ஸ்போஸ்டு டூ இன்ஃபெக்ஷன்’ / ‘இன்ஃபெக்டட்’), ஆனால், நோய்வாய்ப்படாத நிலையில் செய்யப்படுகிறது. ஏற்கெனவே இவா் தொற்றுக்கு வெளிப்பட்டிருப்பதால், இவருக்கும் நோய் தோன்றக்கூடும். அல்லது, நோய்வாய்ப்படவில்லையாயினும், நோய்க் கிருமிகள் இவருக்குள்ளிருந்து பிறருக்குச் செல்லக்கூடும். எனவே, பிறருக்கு பாதகம் ஏற்படாத வகையில், இவா் ஒதுக்கம் செய்யப்படுகிறாா்.

எந்த நடைமுறையாக இருந்தாலும், ஒருவருக்கொருவா் அணுக்கம் கொள்ளாமல், எட்டி இருப்பதுதான் இவற்றின் அடிப்படை என்பதை உணரலாம். இவ்வாறு எட்டி இருப்பதைத்தான் சமூகச் சேய்மை என்றழைக்கிறோம்.

இப்போதைய ‘கொவிட்-19’ நோயைப் பொருத்தவரை, வைரஸ் தொற்றுக்கு உள்ளாகி, ஆனால், நோய்வாய்ப்படாமல், நோயின் அறிகுறி எதையும் வெளிக்காட்டாமல் இருப்பவரிடமிருந்தும், வைரஸ் கிருமிகள் உதிா்கின்றன (‘வைரஸ் ஷெட்டிங்’). இப்படிப்பட்டவரின் இருமல்-தும்மல் துளிகள், உமிழ்நீா், சளி போன்றவற்றில் கிருமிகள் காணப்படுகின்றன. இதைத்தான், ‘இவா் வைரஸ் துகள்களை உதிா்க்கிறாா்’ (‘ஹி ஷெட்ஸ் தி வைரல் பாா்ட்டிக்கிள்ஸ்’) என்று மருத்துவ உலகம் குறிப்பிடுகிறது.

நோய்வாய்ப்பட்டவரும் வைரஸை உதிா்க்கிறாா். நோய் அறிகுறியில்லாமல், ஆனால், வைரஸ் தொற்றுக்கு உள்ளானவரும் வைரஸை உதிா்க்கிறாா். சொல்லப்போனால், நோய்வாய்ப்படாமல் வைரஸை உதிா்ப்பவரால்தான் அபாயம் அதிகம். இதனாலேயே, இப்படிப்பட்டவா்களை, மிகுபரப்பாளா்கள் (‘சூப்பா் ஸ்பிரடா்ஸ்’) என்றழைக்கிறோம்.

கல்வி நிலையங்களையும் அலுவலகங்களையும் மூடி, தோ்வுகளைத் தள்ளிப் போட்டு, நிதி நிலைமை மற்றும் வருவாய் வழிமுறைகள் சீா்குலைந்தாலும் பரவாயில்லை என்று ஊரடங்கு உத்தரவிட்டிருப்பதெல்லாம், சமூகச் சேய்மைக்காகவே! வீட்டில் யாருக்காவது அம்மை போட்டுவிட்டால், வேப்பிலைக் கொத்தை வாசலில் செருகிவைத்து, பிறரை வரவிடாமல் சேய்மைப்படுத்தி, தங்களைத் தாங்களே தனிமைப்படுத்திக் கொண்டவா்கள் நம்முடைய முன்னோா்.

சமூகச் சேய்மை என்பது யாரையோ எதற்கோ ஒதுக்குவதல்ல. ‘21 நாள்கள் எப்படி வீட்டிலேயே முடங்குவது?’ என்னும் கூக்குரல்களும், ‘இப்படியெல்லாம் சோம்பேறியாக இருந்துத் தூங்கி எனக்குப் பழக்கமில்லை’ என்னும் ஒப்பாரிகளும் நம்மை நாமே ஏமாற்றிக் கொள்கிறோம் என்பதற்கான அறிகுறிகள். அவசியமான பொருட்களைத்தானே வாங்கப் போகிறோம் என்று அம்மாவும் அப்பாவும் பிள்ளையுமாகச் சென்று, அங்காடியில் முண்டியடித்து அரிசியோ, பருப்போ, தக்காளியோ வாங்குவதெல்லாம் கரோனாவுக்கு நாம் கட்டும் வரவேற்புத் தோரணங்கள்.

வீட்டிற்குள் தங்குவது என்பது சோம்பேறித்தனமோ தூங்குமூஞ்சித்தனமோ இல்லை. செய்வதற்கு எவ்வளவோ உண்டு; கண்களையும் மனத்தையும் திறந்து வைத்துக்கொண்டால் அவையெல்லாம் புலப்படும்.

‘ஐயோ, புத்தகம் படிக்கவேண்டுமென்று ஆசைதான்; ஆனால், நேரமே இல்லை’ என்று இதுகாறும் சொன்னவா்களுக்காகப் புத்தகங்கள் காத்திருக்கின்றன. ‘இதையெல்லாம் செய்யவேண்டும்; ஆனால் பொழுதில்லை’ என்று இதுகாறும் புலம்பியவா்களுக்காக அந்த வேலைகள் விழித்திருக்கின்றன. நூல்கள், செடிகள், தோட்டம், செல்லப் பிராணி, வீட்டுத் தூய்மை, இசை, பூஜை, ஸ்லோகங்கள், அன்பு உரையாடல் என்று இப்படி எத்தனை எத்தனையோ காத்திருக்கின்றன. இவற்றையெல்லாம் நிறைவேற்றிக்கொள்வதற்காகக் கடவுள் நமக்குக் கொடுத்துள்ள அவகாசம்தான் இந்தச் சமூகச் சேய்மை.

ஊரடங்கு செயல்படுத்தப்பட்டிருக்கும் காலகட்டத்தில் அத்தியாவசியப் பொருள் வாங்குவதற்காகக் குடும்ப உறுப்பினா் வெளியே செல்ல நேரிடலாம். இத்தகைய நிலையில், சில நெறிமுறைகளை நாமே கையாளலாம். எல்லோரும் வெளியே செல்லாமல், ஒரேயொருவா் மட்டும் செல்லலாம். எப்போதும் அவா் ஒருவரே செல்வது நலம். ஒவ்வொரு பொருளை வாங்குவதற்காகவும் பலமுறை செல்லாமல், எல்லாவற்றையும் பட்டியல் போட்டு வைத்துக் கொண்டு ஒரேயொரு முறை செல்லலாம்.

எப்போது எடுத்துச் செல்வதும் ஒரே பையாக இருந்தால் நல்லது. காசு வைத்திருக்கும் பையோ பா்ஸோகூட ஒன்றேயாக இருக்கட்டும். அதில் வைக்கும் ரூபாய்த் தாளையோ, நாணயத்தையோ அதில் மட்டுமே வைத்திருக்கலாம். வீட்டில் உள்ள அல்லது இன்னொரு குடும்ப நபரிடம் உள்ள தாளோடோ நாணயத்தோடோ கலந்துவிடவேண்டாம். எப்போது வெளியே சென்றாலும் ஒரே உடையை அணிதல் நலம். முடிந்தவரை உடலை நன்கு மூடிய உடையாக அது இருக்கட்டும். வெளியே சென்றுவிட்டு வந்தவுடன், அந்த உடையை, மணிபா்ஸை, பையை வீட்டில் எங்காவது தனியாக, பிற பொருள்களோடு சேராத வகையில் வைத்து விடவேண்டும். உடனடியாக சுத்தம் செய்தால் இன்னமும் நல்லது. இவ்வாறு செல்லும்போது, செல்லிடப்பேசியை எடுத்துச் செல்லவேண்டாம்.

முடிந்தவரை வாகனத்தில் செல்லாமல், நடையாகவே செல்லவேண்டும். நீண்ட தொலைவு செல்வதை இது தடுக்கும். வெளியிலிருந்து வந்தவுடன், கைகளையும் கால்களையும் சுத்தம் செய்து கொள்ளவேண்டும். முடிந்தால் ஒருமுறை நன்றாகக் குளித்துவிடலாம். கடைகளிலும் பிற இடங்களிலும் முடிந்தவரை எந்தப் பொருளையும் பரப்பையும் தொடாமல் இருக்கலாம்.

கடையில் கூட்டமாக இருந்தால், உள்ளே செல்வதைத் தவிா்த்துவிடலாம். கதவைத் திறப்பது, குமிழைப் பிடிப்பது, கம்பியைப் பிடிப்பது போன்ற செயல்களை, ஒடுங்கு கரத்தால் (‘நான் டாமினன்ட் ஹேண்ட்’); வலது கை பழக்கமுள்ளவா்களுக்கு இடது கை, ஒடுங்கு கரமாகும்; இடக்கை பழக்கமுள்ளவா்களுக்கு வலது கை, ஒடுங்கு கரமாகும்) செய்யலாம். ஓங்கு கரத்தைத்தான் (‘டாமினன்ட் ஹேண்ட்’) இயல்பாக முகத்திற்கும், கண்ணிற்கும், மூக்கிற்கும் கொண்டு செல்வோம். ஒடுங்கு கரத்தைக் கொண்டு செல்லமாட்டோம்.

கண்டிப்பாக அடிக்கடி வெளியில் செல்ல வேண்டியிருப்பவா்கள் (அலுவலக அல்லது வேறு அவசியப் பணி காரணமாக), வீட்டிலும், ஏனைய குடும்ப உறுப்பினா்களிடமிருந்து சற்று ஒதுங்கியே இருக்கலாம். வெளியில் எங்கு போனாலும், அடுத்த நபரிடமிருந்து குறைந்த பட்சம் நான்கைந்து அடி தள்ளியே இருக்கலாம். பயணங்கள் கண்டிப்பாக இப்போது வேண்டாம்.

‘தனித்திரு’ என்றாா் வள்ளல் பெருமான். தீமைகளைத் தவிா்த்து ஆன்ம மேம்பாட்டிற்குத் தனிமை உதவுவதைப் போலவே, நோய்த் தீமையைத் தவிா்த்து, ஆரோக்கிய மேம்பாட்டுக்கும் தனிமை உதவும். தனிமைப்படுத்துதல் என்பதும் சேய்மைப்படுத்துதல் என்பதும் மனிதா்களை ஒதுக்குவதற்காக அல்ல; கரோனா நோய்த்தொற்றை ஒதுக்கித் தொலைப்பதற்காக! சேய்மைப்பட்டிருப்பது என்பது சுமையோ அழுத்தமோ அல்ல; பொறுப்பும் பொறுமையும் ஆகும்!

கட்டுரையாளா்:

துணைவேந்தா், தமிழ்நாடு டாக்டா் எம்.ஜி.ஆா். மருத்துவ பல்கலைக்கழகம்.

Day 1 of lockdown A success in Chennai

City roads wear a deserted look; cops keep close watch, individuals violating curfew rules mostly told to return home politely 

Published: 26th March 2020 06:34 AM 

A view of the usually busy Koyambedu junction during lockdown in Chennai on Wednesday | P Jawahar

By Sahaya Novinston Lobo

Express News Service

CHENNAI: As the COVID-19 pandemic fear continues to tighten its grip, day one of the lockdown in Chennai went off smoothly barring a few individuals who needed reminders to stay indoors. The city roads mostly wore a deserted look except between 7 and 9 in the morning when a few vehicles hit the roads. But it seems people in some areas are not in tune with times and bunch of them were seen chatting in groups.

Even though there is a strict order that public transport stay off the roads, a few autorickshaws and cabs were seen in Egmore. Police had to politely ask them to go away. “They were just curious to find out how the city looked like during a lockdown,” said a police officer. The cries of social distancing to keep the virus at bay seem to have fallen on deaf ears as clusters of people were seen at stores purchasing vegetables and milk in the morning. The police had to intervene and ask them to stand in queues. At Mandaveli and Virugambakkam, police were constantly monitoring to ensure that people did not gather in shops in large numbers.

Have a valid reason?

City police checked every vehicle that hit the road. “There are some exempted private companies. We made sure only people with work profiles coming under this category are on the roads,” said a senior police officer. “We asked them to produce their identity cards”.

People who said they were going to hospitals were asked to show proof for their visit. In spite of several warnings, a few petty shops were open at Aminjikarai, Thirumangalam, Anna Nagar and Kilpauk. The police had to get them down the shutters. “Everyone has excuses of some kind. Most people say they are going to pharmacies or grocery stores when there are such shops near their houses,” said a police officer. The police personnel while checking on the public insisted they wear masks or at least tie a handkerchief around their face. 

Foreign trouble

A Japanese national fainted at Egmore. Health officials admitted him to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. Police said he was stable and they have contacted the Japanese Embassy. Three French nationals who were ordered to stay under home quarantine, were warned and let off after they were seen roaming at Poonamallee, police said.

All students from classes 1-9 promoted

Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday announced that students of standards I to IX will be promoted without having to appear for examinations since all schools have been closed. He also banned tea shops across the State from 6 pm on Wednesday until further orders.

Besides, he said he came to know that a section of students could not appear for plus two examination on March 24. Examinations for these students will be conducted separately. The date will be announced later. The above decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister at his residence. Chief Secretary K Shanmugam, DGP LK Tripathy, Greater Chennai Police Commissioner AK Viswanathan and School Education Secretary Dheeraj Kumar were present.

Seven booked for playing cricket 

Chennai: Choolaimedu police booked seven people for playing cricket on CH Road. The men between ages of 22 to 27 were booked under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection). They were later released on station bail. 

Duo told to perform squats for violation

Chennai: Policemen apparently in plain clothes asked a duo to perform Thoppukaranam (Sit ups) for stepping out of their house on Wednesday afternoon at Mint Street in North Chennai. This was video recorded by local residents and is doing the rounds in social media. After section 144 was imposed on Tuesday, instances like this across the country has been on the rise. 

Release all detained under PSA: DMK 

Chennai: DMK has urged Centre to release all arrested leaders who were detained under Public Safety Act in Jammu and Kashmir and anti-CAA protesters. MK Stalin tweeted, “The decision to release Omar Abdullah and not other leaders is bittersweet. As we prepare to tackle COVID-19 and with prisoners being granted parole, I appeal to Centre to release all detained under PSA & anti-CAA protesters.”

Battling stigma: Doctors told to move out of homes?

We don’t need claps or clangs, just encourage us to do our jobs, say medicos

Published: 26th March 2020 06:34 AM 

A doctor pours medicine to be used as a precaution against COVID-19, at Nehru Homeopathic Medical College. (Photo| Shekhar Yadav, EPS)

By ​SINDUJA JANE

Express News Service

CHENNAI: “I was staying with my grandparents in a rented house near Nanganallur. While I was away, a few residents association members asked my grandfather to tell me to move out. They started creating an issue after reports of doctors being told to vacate houses in rest of the country appeared,” said a government doctor. He added that he moved out to his aunt’s place because he did not want to make an issue out of it. Though doctors and nurses are on the forefront of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, a section of them are facing discrimination from house owners and neighbours.

According to sources, two doctors working at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital were also told to move out from their rented flat. “We don’t need claps or clangs, what we want is support and encouragement at these difficult times,” said the doctors. The Health department has constituted teams of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff to work in isolation wards on rotation. After four to seven days of duty, one team will quarantine themselves at homes, and then a fresh team is posted.

The Health department on Tuesday instructed all deans of medical colleges, and the Joint Director of Health Services to make necessary arrangements for those on rotation in isolation ward, for staying inside hospital premises to reduce the risk of infection.

Chennai cops harass, beat up residents stepping out to buy groceries amid COVID-19 lockdown

Several Chennai residents complained that they were given an earful and in some cases even hit by the police for stepping out to buy groceries, medicines and other essentials.

Published: 26th March 2020 07:11 PM |

Police personnel checking motorists during lockdown.(Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS)

By Madhumitha Viswanath

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Policemen are indeed having a stressful job on the roads amidst fears of a life threatening pandemic. But many incidents of highhandedness by the men in khaki in the last three days in Chennai have caused much trauma to the common man stepping out to buy groceries or workers engaged in delivering essential services. Even a medical doctor driving a scooter was beaten with a lathi by a police officer before he could reveal that he is a doctor.

When asked for a comment, a senior police officer told The New Indian Express, "Chennai police are not advised to hit unlike other states and even some districts in Tamil Nadu. We have told personnel to warn people who roam on the streets without any purpose. If there are cases where people who went for essential work were harassed, we will definitely look into it."

However, several Chennai residents complained that they were given an earful and in some cases even hit by the police for stepping out to buy groceries, medicines and other essentials.

Residents, doctors, those working with essential services, newspaper vendors and delivery men, those employed at ration shops, house help, water tanker drivers faced the same issue. They narrated the harrowing time they had with the police for merely doing their job which is crucial at such worrying times.

Many videos were widely circulated on social media platforms and news channels where people were yelled at and beaten with lathis for coming out to buy basic items. While those who come out on a whim to roam the free streets need to be advised to stay indoors, use of excessive force is unnecessary and should be avoided, said residents.

A resident of Adambakkam, Srini Swaminathan, said that he was scared to go to buy vegetables anymore after his experience with the police on Wednesday morning near Balaji Nagar Main road junction at Adambakkam. 

"I had milk packets, vegetables tumbling out of my bag. I was wearing a mask too. Police constables stopped me and said that they will file a case against me if they saw me again. They said section 144 has been imposed and this means that we should stay and home and starve. They accused me of roaming around for fun. I terrified of going out again," said Swaminathan, who has to take care of two elderly parents at home.

Residents said they had no choice but to venture out to neighbouring areas to buy groceries as the shops in their areas were closed or over crowded. At Guduvancherry, at the service road along GST Road, motorists, even senior citizens, were harassed by the police for coming out. 

Section 144 of the IPC clearly states that only the unlawful gathering of five or more persons armed with weapons is prohibited. But police personnel in the lower ranks manning important roads and junctions have misinterpreted this and are cracking down on people who move out even due to genuine reasons. 

Sadly, a few doctors and medical helpers too were caught in the same sticky situation. Two days ago, near Parry's corner, a doctor was hit on his arm with a lathi and was allowed to go only after he explained who he was. In other areas, helpers who look after terminally ill and differently abled patients couldn't reach the patients' house as they were stopped by police personnel.

"My neighbour's mother suffers from Parkinson's and her caretaker of four years couldn't come to her house today. Many patients who need to go for cancer treatment and dialysis have no mode of transport to step out. The government must look at alternative transport for them," said David Manohar, a civic activist from Pallavaram. 

While the state government announced free ration for card holding families, government employees who work at TUCS outlets have been beaten up without question by the police. Three sales assistants working at these rations shops in Tambaram, and Keelkatalai, were fined and beaten up in three different incidents on Wednesday and Thursday for trying to reach their workplaces.

"When I was going from Tambaram to Keelkatalai, near Gurukulam signal I was asked to pay Rs 100 as fine for stepping out. Even after I showed them my ID card they insisted that I pay up. Similarly, my colleague was also asked to pay Rs 500 near Peerkankaranai signal. One colleague was beaten up even before he could show them his ID. He was mentally disturbed after this and struggles to come to work," said Subhash V, a sales assistant at a TUCS ration shop.

Newspaper vendors and delivery men aren't spared too. Near Adyar Signal junction, under the bridge where newspapers are usually segregated and sold, delivery men were beaten up by police, said newspaper agents. This happened at Chrompet on Thursday morning and at Kodambakkam too. Because of this many localities in the city did not get their copies.

"Mostly those who just finished school and college going students work part-time as delivery boys. Their parents don't want to send them anywhere scared they will get hit by police. In some cases, their cycles were taken away too," said an agent from Chrompet, who didn't want to be named.

On OMR, cases of private water tankers being stopped and the drivers being beaten up are in plenty, said residents. On Wednesday, five tankers of water were stopped from reaching a private hospital in Perungudi. Near Shollinganallur, a driver was beaten up by police for 'trying to make money for commercial purposes during such times'.

"Sewage and water treatment plants in our apartments can be operated only by certain technical staff. But they are unable to come from their houses as police do not allow them to commute. We have given the staff a letter explaining this. But the police aren't ready to even read it. One staffer from Kannagi Nagar wasn't allowed to come in his two-wheeler to the apartment today," said Prabha Koda, a resident of Shollinganallur.

Though the state government announced many times that grocery stores will remain open to stop panic buying, police personnel were seen asking shops to shut down in Mylapore, Shanthi Colony at Anna Nagar and near Kalakshetra Colony in Besant Nagar. 

Official sources said that the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami advised the district collectors in the meeting with them on Thursday to ensure that the police does not behave high-handedly towards members of the public.

(Inputs by Sahaya Novinston Lobo)

Need essentials in Chennai? Here are the officials you can contact

Residents and other can contact them if they find difficulty in getting essential items, to get information about grocery shops, if any patient needs to be transported to the hospital,

Published: 26th March 2020 07:12 PM 

A ration shop equipped with pipe to deliver essentials in Tami Nadu. (Photo | EPS)

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation on Thursday released a list of mobile numbers of zonal officers and Regional Deputy Commissioners (RDC) for all 15 zones. Residents and other can contact them if they find difficulty in getting essential items, to get information about grocery shops, if any patient needs to be transported to the hospital, any services for pregnant women, elderly among others.

This is the detailed list:

RDC--North-- P Akash--9445025800(zone 1-5)

RDC--Central---P N Sridhar--9445190150(zone 6 to 10)

RDC--South--- Alby John---9445190100 (zone 11-15)

Zone----Zone name---Official name---Number

zone 1---Thiruvatriyur---Paul Thangadurai---9445190001

zone 2---Manali-- D Rajasekar--- 9445190002

zone 3---Madhavaram-- S Devendiran-- 9445190003

zone 4--Tondiarpet--M Kamaraj--- 9445190004

zone 5---Royapuram--R Manoharan--- 9445190005

zone 6---Thiru Vi Ka Nagar---P Narayanan--- 9445190006

zone 7--Ambattur---G Tamilselvan-- 9445190007

zone 8---Anna Nagar---K Sundarajan--- 9445190008

zone 9---Teynampet---J Ravikumar--- 9445190009

zone 10---Kodambakkam-- M Paranthaman-- 9445190010

zone 11---Valasaravakkam-- S sasikala--- 9445190011

zone 12--Alandur---H Murugan--- 9445190012

zone 13---Adyar---N Thirumurugan-- 9445190013

zone 14---Perungudi--S Baskaran-- 9445190014

zone 15---Shollinganallur---T Sugumar---- 9445190015

Hyderabad Commissioner holds meet in jam-packed hall

Top brass sets a wrong example on physical distancing

26/03/2020, ABHINAY DESHPANDE,HYDERABAD

Wrong move: Representatives of essential services attending a meeting organised by Hyderabad Commissioner.

A hall packed with representatives of essential services for a meeting with Hyderabad Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar on Wednesday shows the extent to which social distancing is being ignored at this time of COVID-19 pandemic, with the top brass setting a wrong example.

What is worse is that these very people, who were seen sitting and standing close to one another at the meeting held by Mr. Kumar and top officers of the city police, already came in contact and will continue to do so with hordes of people as part of their essential supply chain.

Though each one of them was made to wash their hands with liquid soaps at the entry gate and later given hand sanitisers, social distancing was not maintained leaving a chance for the virus to spread, if there were to be any carrier among them.

The meeting, which saw the presence of Principal Secretary (IT) Jayesh Ranjan and several senior police officers, lasted for close to three hours.

Police personnel present and staff at the CP office were worried after seeing the large gathering. The main concept of lockdown was to make sure people don’t come in large numbers and gather at a place. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Kumar appeared terrified at the huge turnout and was seen wearing a premium mask.

The conference hall at Mr. Kumar’s office in Basheerbagh has a capacity to seat 180 to 200 people.

Several representatives from hospitals, marketing, cable operators, pharmacies and groceries, had to stand because the hall was jam-packed.

Modi ‘pained’ by harassment of doctors

They are ‘a form of god’ and such acts will prove costly to the offenders, says Prime Minister

26/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,LUCKNOW

Facing the people: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacting with citizens of Varanasi on Wednesday.PTIPTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he had instructed the police chiefs of different States to take strict action against those who ill-treat or don’t co-operate with doctors, nurses and other professionals who are providing vital services in the fight against COVID-19.

Mr. Modi was responding to a question by a Varanasi resident during a videoconference with people of his Lok Sabha constituency.

When asked about the incidents of discrimination and harassment faced by the staff members of airlines who helped to rescue COVID-19 patients and doctors and nurses tending to such people, the Prime Minister said he was pained by such reports.

Such acts would “prove costly” to the offenders, he warned.

Mr. Modi said that if people noticed such incidents of ill-treatment of doctors, nurses or ‘safai karamcharis’, they should point it out and warn the offenders. Nurses and doctors working in white uniform against COVID-19 “are a form of god,” he said.

To another question on reports of people resorting to self-diagnosis, Mr. Modi warned the public not to try to get COVID-19 treated on their own. “Stay at home and act as per doctor’s advice,” he stressed. “First, consult your doctor,” he said.

If the Mahabharata war was won in 18 days, the battle against coronavirus that the whole country is fighting would take 21 days, the Prime Minister said. “Our attempt is to win it in 21 days,” he said. His constituency, Varanasi, could teach the country patience, coordination and sensitivity, support, peace and tolerance during the lockdown.

Mr. Modi also asked people, especially those capable, to take care of nine poor families for 21 days as part of Navratri, as well as the animals, that could not fend for themselves due to the shutdown of services and transport. This was his reply to a question on the crisis faced by migrant labourers and the poor who were stranded in various cities without any means of support.

“This will be a true Navratri,” he said, asking the people to adopt ‘karuna’ (compassion) as another step to defeat corona [virus].

The Prime Minister also refuted ideas that people in India were adept at battling COVID-19 owing to factors such as the hot and humid weather and lifestyle. “The biggest truth coming out of this illness is that it doesn’t discriminate against anyone and ruins both the rich and the poor,” he said.

He asked the people not to rely on misinformation and continue to maintain physical distancing.

A long road

The unprecedented lockdown can work only if governments help people stay homebound

26/03/2020

India’s unprecedented 21-day national lockdown is an unparalleled effort at stopping the march of a fast-spreading scourge that has overwhelmed the health infrastructure of several nations. Although the Centre seems to have thought of such a move in advance in a bid to flatten the curve of transmission of the novel coronavirus, the enforcement has left millions of people unprepared for the severe disruption. The janata curfew, on Sunday, ahead of the lockdown was obviously a drill for the three-week imposition, but the government failed to anticipate the complex issues involved in confining over a billion people to their homes. Of course, as a public health measure, the full national lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being welcomed by the medical community as a necessary measure to cut the transmission chain of the virus. Fresh arrival of travellers from abroad has already been stopped, and three weeks is long enough to allow for symptomatic cases of COVID-19 disease to emerge. This should give the government sufficient time to plan a treatment response. But for the lockdown to serve its purpose, it should lead to wider testing of all suspected cases. Regrettably, the lack of planning on the lockdown resulted in another bout of crowding, with people rushing out to buy essential supplies and medicines. There were instances of mindless police violence against workers performing routine jobs. The virtual curfew could have been made far less stressful through prior discussion with the States, and unambiguous communication to the public. Clearly, State agencies did not follow the order issued by the Home Ministry under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, spelling out provisions on essential services.

If the prolonged lockdown is to be executed without too much trauma for the general public, there has to be a war room approach. Chief among the measures needed is reliable access to food, water, medicines and emergency assistance. Here, some States have moved early and announced cash relief and free rations. The challenge is to ensure effective implementation. Again, if movement is to be restricted, essentials must be delivered virtually at the doorstep. This is enabled explicitly by the Home Ministry’s order. Allowing delivery of medicines by pharmacies is important and essential personnel must be given passes that protect them from police harassment and ensure movement of goods. There is also a deplorable trend of social discrimination against health workers handling COVID-19 cases, which must be sternly dealt with. The onus is on the Central and State governments to provide for everyone during the lockdown, and they should be working round the clock. Otherwise, people will be forced into a situation where breaking the curfew might seem the safer alternative to deprivation and suffering in isolation.

The efficacy of a protracted three-week-long countrywide lockdown in the fight against the pandemic aside, what is very clear is that the shutdown is set to bring the approximately ₹200-lakh crore national economy close to a shuddering standstill. The ramifications are already so wide-ranging that measuring the fallout merely in terms of lost economic output would be grossly inadequate. The hardest hit are the millions of daily wage earners, the self-employed and small businesses, and the rural landless poor. Vulnerable segments of the workforce face the immediate prospect of a lack of income as well as hunger. On a larger scale, with public transport services now withdrawn and private vehicular movement severely restricted to the barest delivery of essential services, it is hard to see how people employed even in vital sectors of manufacturing or the utilities would be able to reach their workplaces. While the Finance Minister on Tuesday announced a welcome slew of tax and regulatory compliance-related deadline deferments as well as some credit-related relief to the MSME sector, the combined steps will at best be of marginal help to tackle the unprecedented economic crisis. Any package to address it therefore demands a set of mitigation and subsequent stimulus measures that would need to be of an exceptional scale and require implementation on a war footing.

For a start, the Centre must abandon its fiscal deficit goals at this moment of a worldwide healthcare and economic crisis that is set to tip the global economy into a recession, at the very least in the near term. In keeping with what some State governments as well as most developed economies have already announced, the Centre needs to immediately release sizeable cash grants to all persons with Jan-Dhan accounts and BPL ration cards and use its various social welfare schemes including PM-KISAN and MGNREGA to ensure that the reach of such financial aid is maximised countrywide. The plan must also encompass a broad swathe of spending measures. These should include substantial investments in public health infrastructure targeted at COVID-19 treatment — for which a beginning has been made with an allocation of ₹15,000 crore — as well as provisions for free services to all financial aid recipients; loan repayment holidays and a wage bill subsidy to all MSME businesses that retain their workforce at pre-crisis levels; and once the lockdown is lifted, a huge public infrastructure creation backed spending push to generate jobs and restart economic activity. A modest doubling of the budgeted fiscal deficit figure for 2020-21 could see about ₹16-lakh crore being freed up for the Centre to both spend directly and provide capital support in the form of grants and subsidies to State governments and banks. The government would do well to use the crisis as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address both the economy’s and the public’s well-being. The lives and livelihoods lost to the pandemic should not be in vain.

Beware of a lopsided lockdown

The poor seem to count for very little in the Central government’s curfew plan

26/03/2020

Jean Drèze

REUTERSDANISH SIDDIQUI/REUTERS

“I am willing to go hungry if there is no other way to stop this virus, but how will I explain that to my children?” We heard these poignant words two days ago from Nemi Devi of Dumbi village in Latehar district, Jharkhand. Her son and husband, both migrant workers, are stranded far away. In village after village, many other women expressed similar worries. And that was even before the Prime Minister announced a drastic 21-day lockdown, from Wednesday.

The enormity of the coronavirus crisis is gradually dawning on India. For you and me, it is still in the future. But for many informal-sector workers and their families, the crisis is already in full swing: there is no work, and resources are running out. Things are all set to get worse as the privileged hoard with abandon and food prices go north.

Hopefully, the Central government’s decision to impose a 21-day lockdown will prove right in due course. But the lockdown (a virtual curfew) is crying out for relief measures, including income support for poor families. As it happens, most of them already receive a limited form of income support: food rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Under the National Food Security Act, two-thirds of Indian families (75% and 50% in rural and urban areas, respectively) are covered. In most States, including the poorest, the PDS works — not perfectly, but well enough to protect the bulk of the population from hunger.

Use excess food stock

The PDS is the country’s most important asset in this situation. It is essential to keep it going, even to expand it, in terms of both coverage and entitlements. Fortunately, India has gigantic excess food stocks. In fact, it has carried excess food stocks (more than twice the buffer-stock norms) for almost 20 years, and this is the time to use them. Nothing prevents the Central government from, say, doubling PDS rations for three or even six months as an emergency measure. That will not make up for most people’s loss of income, but it will ensure that there is food in the house at least.

Some bold steps are required to make food distribution effective. For instance, biometric authentication (fingerprint scanning) is best removed at this time — it is a source of exclusion as well as a health hazard. Distribution needs to be staggered and tightly supervised, to avoid crowds and cheating at the ration shop. Dealers who are caught cheating must be swiftly punished. All this is well within the realm of possibility; the main thing is to release the stocks without delay.

Having said this, the PDS is not enough. For one thing, many poor people are still excluded from it. Large-scale cash transfers are also required, starting with advance payment of social security pensions and a big increase in pension amounts (the Central government’s contribution has stagnated at a measly ₹200 per month since 2006). Here, one possible hurdle is the payment system. Many pensioners collect their pension from “business correspondents” (BCs) – a kind of human automated teller machine (ATM), who dispenses money on behalf of the bank. The problem is, unlike ATMs, most BCs use biometric authentication rather than smart cards. And mass biometric authentication could accelerate the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Payment arrangements

Ideally, biometric authentication should be abandoned for now. Even if it is not, many BCs may vanish for fear of infection (most of them are poorly-paid employees of poorly-regulated private entities). Under both scenarios, something has to be done to ensure safe crowd management at the bank. New payment arrangements are also possible. For instance, social security pensions could be paid in cash at the panchayat bhavan on a given day of the month, obviating the need for everyone to go to the bank: this has been done in Odisha for years, with good results. Cash could also be disbursed, with due safeguards, through anganwadis or self-help groups. Cash transfers need not be limited to social security pensions. Revamping the PDS and social security pensions would go a long way, but a significant proportion of vulnerable families are likely to fall through the cracks. Further, food rations may prevent hunger but people have many other basic needs; they will need money to cope with this spell of unemployment.

There are several possible ways of extending the reach of cash transfers beyond pensions. For instance, money could be sent to the accounts of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act job-card holders, or Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) beneficiaries, or PDS cardholders. How these lists are best used and combined is a context-specific question, perhaps best handled at the State level (my sense is that in many States, the MGNREGA job-cards list is the best starting point). These are just some examples of possible emergency measures. Many other valuable suggestions have been made, relating for instance to midday meals, community kitchens and relief camps for stranded migrant workers. The first step is to make relief measures an integral part of the lockdown plan. Failing that, it may do more harm than good. For one thing, a hungry and enfeebled population is unlikely to fight the virus effectively. A constructive lockdown should empower people to fight back together, not treat them like sheep.

Finally, Centre-State cooperation is essential. Many State governments have already initiated valuable social-security measures, but they are far from adequate. The Central government, for its part, has been struck with inexplicable paralysis on this. Adequate relief measures require big money (lakhs of crores of rupees) from the Central government. Implementation, however, should be led by the States. They all have their own circumstances and methods. The Central government is unlikely to do better on their behalf. If it foots the bill, that will be a good start.

Jean Drèze is Visiting Professor at the Department of Economics, Ranchi University

Dressing a wounded economy

The two major tools that the government has available before it are monetary policy and fiscal actions

26/03/2020

C. Rangarajan

The impact of the coranavirus pandemic is now felt by almost every country. First, there are the health effects of the virus, and second is the economic impact of the various actions that have to be taken to combat the virus. The world is experiencing an additional slowdown on top of the contracting tendencies already present and India is no exception. The economic impact on India can be traced through four channels: external demand; domestic demand; supply disruptions, and financial market disturbances.

External, domestic demand

As the economies of the developed countries slow down (some people are even talking of recession), their demand for imports of goods will go down and this will affect our exports which are even now not doing well. In fact after six months of negative growth, it was only in January that Indian exports showed positive growth. The extent of decline will depend on how severely the other economies are affected. Not only merchandise exports but also service exports will suffer. Besides these, the IT industry, travel, transport and hotel industries will be affected. The only redeeming feature in the external sector is the fall in oil prices. India’s oil import bill will come down substantially. But this will affect adversely the oil exporting countries which absorb Indian labour. Remittances may slow down.

To ward off the spread of the coronavirus, the government has declared a lockdown of the country. As passengers travel less, the transportation industry, road, rail and air, is cutting down schedules, sometimes drastically. This will affect in turn several other sectors closely related to them. The laying off of non-permanent employees has already started. As people in general buy less, shops stock less, which in turn affects production. Perhaps retail units will be first to be affected and they will in turn transmit this to the production units. One is unable to make an estimate of the reduction in economic activity at this point. If the situation is not reversed soon, there can be a serious decline in the growth rate during 2020-21.

Supply disruptions can occur because of the inability to import or procure inputs. The break in supply chains can be severe. It is estimated that nearly 60% of our imports is in the category of ‘intermediate goods’. Imports from countries which are affected by the virus can be a source of concern. Domestic supply chain can also be affected as the inter-State movement of goods has also slowed down.

Financial market issues

Financial markets are the ones which respond quickly and irrationally to a pandemic such as the coronavirus pandemic. The entire reaction is based on fear. The stock market in India has collapsed. The indices are at a three-year low. Foreign Portfolio Investors have shown great nervousness and the safe haven doctrine operates. In this process, the value of the rupee in terms of dollar has also fallen. The stock market decline has a wealth affect and will have an impact on the behaviour of particularly high wealth holders.

How does the government deal with this sudden decline in economic activity which has come at a time when the economy is not doing well? The two major tools that are available are monetary policy and fiscal actions.

Monetary policy in a situation like this can only act to stimulate demand by a greater push of liquidity and credit. The policy rate has already beenbrought down by 135 basis points over the last several months. There is obviously scope for further reduction. But our own history as well as the experience of other countries clearly show that beyond a point, a reduction in interest rates does not work. It is the environment of the overall economy that counts. Credit may be available. But there may not be takers. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. Any substantial reduction of policy rate can also affect savers. Interest is a double-edged sword.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) needs to go beyond cutting policy rate. A certain amount of regulatory forbearance is required to make the banks lend. Even commercial banks on their own will have to think in terms of modifying norms they use for inventory holding by production units. Repayments to banks can be delayed and the authorities must be willing to relax the rules. Any relaxation of rules regarding the recognition of non-performing assets has to be across the entire business sector. The authorities must be ready to tighten the rules as soon as the situation improves. This is a temporary relaxation and must be seen as such by banks and borrowers.

Fiscal actions have a major role to play. Once again, the ability to play a big role is constrained by the fact that the fiscal position of the government of India is already difficult. Even without the pandemic, the fiscal deficit of the Central government will turn out to be higher than that indicated in the budgets for 2019-20 and 2020-21. Revenues are likely to go down further because of the virus related slowdown in economic activity.

In this context, the ability to undertake big ticket expenditures is constrained. But there are some ‘musts’. The virus has to be fought and brought down. All expenditures to test (there is some concern that the extent of testing that we are doing now is low) and to take care of patients must be incurred. Now that private hospitals are allowed to test, the cost of the people going to private hospitals must also be met by the government. The involvement of private hospitals has become necessary. It is mentioned that a test costs ₹4,500. The total cost can be substantial if the numbers to be tested run in the thousands and more. This may sound exaggerated. But we must be prepared so that we avoid the tragedy of Italy. Therefore, the first priority is to mobilise adequate resources to meet all health related expenditures which includes the supply of accessories such as masks, sanitisers and materials for tests. The challenge is not only fiscal but also organisational.

The job sector

Serious concerns have been expressed about people who have been thrown out of employment. These are mostly daily-wage earners and non-permanent/temporary employees. In fact some of the migrant labour have gone back to home States. We must appeal to the business units to keep even non-permanent workers on their rolls and provide them with a minimal income. Some relief can be thought of by the government for such business units even though this can be misused. However, in general, in the case of sectors such as hospitality and travel, the government can extend relief through deferment of payments of dues to the government.

There is also talk of providing cash transfer to individuals. There is already a programme for rural farmers with all the limitations. For a system of cash transfer to be workable, it has to be universal. At this moment when all the energies of the government are required to combat the virus, to institute a system of universal cash transfer will be a diversion of efforts. The burden on the government will depend upon the quantum of per capita cash transfer and the length of the period.

As mentioned earlier, the government should advise all business units not to retrench workers and provide some relief to them to maintain the workers. A supplemental income scheme for all the poor can be thought of once the immediate problem is resolved. Provision of food and other essentials must be made available to the affected as is done at the time of floods or drought. States must take the initiative.

The fiscal deficit is bound to go up substantially. The higher borrowing programme will need the support of the RBI if the interest rate is to be kept low. Monetisation of deficit is inevitable. The strong injection of liquidity will store up problems for the next year. Inflation can flare up. The government needs to be mindful of this. All the same, the government must not stint and go out in a massive way to combat the virus. This is the government’s first priority.

C. Rangarajan is Former Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Former Governor, Reserve Bank of India

Railways cancels all trains till April 14

26/03/2020,NEW DELHI

The Railways have announced the cancellation of all passenger trains, mail, express, suburban trains and trains of the metro rail up to April 14, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, freight operations would continue, the Railways said in an official statement. The Railway Board has also announced the suspension of bookings for all types of journeys till April 14. E-ticketing facilities for booking of reserved tickets for journey after April 14 will be available online.

Government college teachers to donate day’s salary to State

Decision taken to tackle spread of COVID-19

26/03/2020, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers’ Association (TNGCTA) has decided to donate a day’s salary of all its members to the State government for its fight against COVID-19.

T. Veeramani, president, TNGCTA, said that the association had more than 5,000 members. “Tamil Nadu and the entire country is facing a health and economic crisis of an unprecedented nature. Hence, we decided unanimously to make the contribution,” he said.He added that the association was sending a letter to the CM and the Higher Education Minister to take steps to deduct a day’s salary from its members.S. Suresh, joint secretary (general), TNGCTA, said that the association was willing to fully cooperate with the government in fighting the contagion.

Doctor shuts down clinic in rural Sivaganga

‘Establishment lacks modern facilities’

26/03/2020, S. SUNDAR,MADURAI

In the wake of COVID-19, a retired government doctor has closed down his private clinic in a village near Tirupattur in Sivaganga district.

A notice board outside the house of M. Sheik Davooth, who retired as professor of pharmacology from Pudukkottai Government Medical College, says he has gone into self-quarantine along with his family members since Tuesday.

Since his rural clinic does not have any modern facility, he decided to close it down, he says.

“I am not able to identify people falling under category B among patients coming to my hospital. These are people who could have come into contact with those who have infection. Besides, some with infection can be asymptomatic. And some infected with the virus will not have any symptoms in the initial stage.”

The physician says he gets around 40 to 60 patients every day with all kinds of minor ailments such as cough, cold and fever.

“My hospital does not have space to maintain social distancing. This can put everyone’s health at risk. Besides, masks and sanitisers are also not available freely in the market.”

Train reaches destination without a single passenger

Vivek Express rolls into Kanniyakumari after 81 hours of travel through 7 States

26/03/2020, S. VIJAY KUMAR ,CHENNAI

Vivek Express entering an empty Kanyakumari railway station, after completing four days of journey, on Wednesday.

It started on the night of March 22, barely hours before the ‘Janata Curfew’ called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into force and continued its journey for the next four days, traversing seven States across the country to reach its destination in the southern tip of India.

Though the train had about 50% occupancy during most of its journey, it reached its last station Kanniyakumari without any passenger. About 250 passengers, including women and children, were deboarded at Palghat and quarantined at Government Victoria College there. However, when contacted, a Southern Railway spokesperson said some passengers were allowed to travel beyond Palghat. As a nationwide lockdown also dawned on Kanniyakumari, train No. 15906 Vivek Express rolled in empty. The train, the longest travelling express in the country, was the last in the railway network to complete its journey on Wednesday, as the Ministry of Railways extended the cancellation of all passenger services till the midnight of April 14, 2020, in the wake of COVID-19. The weekly train started at 11.05 pm at Dibrugarh in Assam on March 21 and took 81 hours and 36 minutes to cover a distance of 4,205 km to reach Kanniyakumari four days later. Despite the threat of COVID-19, people boarded the train at the last minute to reach home, sources said. “The Kerala government is taking care of screening, food and other logistics for them. Most of the passengers belong to Tamil Nadu…we are not sure how long they will be quarantined there,” an official told The Hindu.

Villupuram GH turned into COVID-19 hospital

26/03/2020,VILLUPURAM

The Villupuram Government General Hospital has been converted into a special facility for treating COVID-19 patients, Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam said. The Health Department had set up a 100-bed isolation facility in Villupuram Government Medical College and Hospital. Three patients were under quarantine. The throat swabs of two of them had tested negative while the result was awaited for the third, he said.

One major private hospital in a block to be a COVID-19 facility

26/03/2020, RAMYA KANNAN,CHENNAI

Outlining the strategy to be adopted in the private sector to manage the COVID-19 outbreak, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said the government was exploring the idea of taking one major hospital in a block — with 200 to 300 patients — and converting it into a specialised unit to treat SARS-CoV-2 patients.

“We are planning to do this in order to not expose other patients in hospitals to the infection. Not all hospitals in the private sector may have facilities that will allow for isolation, segregation and be able to follow the stringent protocols that we specify. So we have decided to take one major hospital in each block, in tier 1, 2 and 3 cities and have them take all cases, as and when necessary,” he said.

He held meetings with hospital representatives in the city, including those from MIOT Hospital, MGM, Saveetha, Fortis Malar, Billroth, Kauvery and Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre. All private hospitals expressed their willingness to co-operate with the State government.

Air India carries medical supplies

27/03/2020,NEW DELHI

Air India carried the first bulk consignment of face masks and medical equipment from Mumbai to New Delhi on Thursday as the focus in the aviation sector shifts to transport of essential medical supplies after the ban on passenger flights. Air India operated its Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which landed in Delhi at 4 p.m. on Thursday, with 6.5 tonnes of cargo, according to the airline’s spokesperson. The airline has only passenger aircraft in its fleet and carries cargo in the aircraft’s belly which has limited capacity as compared to freight aircraft.

SpiceJet to ferry 142 Iran returnees to Jodhpur

27/03/2020,NEW DELHI

SpiceJet on Thursday said it would operate a special flight from Delhi to Jodhpur on Friday to ferry 142 Indians evacuated from Iran to a quarantine facility there. The airline said in a statement that it would deploy its Boeing 737 aircraft for the service, which is being run at the request of the government. The passengers will reach New Delhi on a Mahan Air flight. The SpiceJet flight will take off from New Delhi at 1.40 a.m. and land in Jodhpur at 2.55 a.m. on Friday. The Army has set up one of its quarantine facilities in Jodhpur for Indians returning from abroad.

Pay and accounts units to ensure salaries on time

27/03/2020,NEW DELHI

Although work in government offices not engaged in essential services has come to a standstill, their pay and accounts divisions are functioning to ensure that the employees get salaries on time. “The pending salaries of contractual workers are also being cleared by supervisory officers on a priority basis,” said an official in the Income Tax Department. In an addendum to the guidelines for the lockdown, the Home Ministry exempted the Pay & Accounts Offices, apart from the field offices of the Controller-General of Accounts, with a bare minimum staff.

Patna govt. doctors seek home quarantine

27/03/2020

“We’re on duty without all necessary kits and masks, which makes many of us vulnerable to infection...many of us have developed symptoms of COVID-19...but nobody is here to listen us,” said Ravi Ranjan Kumar Raman, president of the NMCH Junior Doctors Association.

“We face acute shortage of PPE kits, N-95 masks and other necessary protective gear ...we’re still waiting for these to come... till then we’re left to serve and die here,” they alleged.

On March 23, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced a monetary incentive equal to one month basic salary for doctors and paramedical staff for their contribution to fighting COVID-19. However, the junior doctors have written to the government to “utilise the money to provide them PPE kits and N-95 masks.”

The United Resident & Doctors Association of India has drawn the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a letter written on March 25, to the plight of the NMCH junior doctors.

“A recent incidence of Nalanda Medical College in Patna, Bihar has been brought to our notice where 83 resident doctors who had history of exposure to positive patients are now having symptoms and are suspected of being positive. No tests have been done, nor the said doctors have been quarantined which may complicate the situation. We request you to kindly direct authorities not to ignore such grievous situations,” the letter said.

Rate of spread has slowed relatively: govt.

27/03/2020

“The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) has been roped in to provide behavioural health modules while training is being offered to ASHAs and grassroots-level health workers to educate, help in surveillance and assist with care of patients,” said Mr. Agarwal.

Stating that this is the biggest challenge that country faces Mr. Agarwal said the “mistake of even a single individual not complying with the rules laid down by the government could prove costly for him and his family.”

He said there is no evidence of this so far and added that India is still not registering any community transmission.

Joint Secretary, Home Ministry Punya Salila Srivastava, said measures have been put in place to ensure the regular supply of essential goods and health services to even remote area of India with special flight to northeast.

Head of Epidemiology, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Raman Gangakhedkar, said the Council had not still felt the need to test all health care workers and that there is no trend to indicate that elderly in India are at added risk.

“We have further increased our laboratory strength by roping in 25 private labs. They have nearly 20,000 collection centres. However, testing has not been majorly expanded as these labs are still getting their testing kits and also we don’t have the numbers yet to press all of them into action.”

The number of cases in Gujarat increased to 44 on Thursday, officials said.

PMO calls for daily virus updates

Union Ministers allotted States to oversee measures to combat COVID-19

27/03/2020, NISTULA HEBBAR,NEW DELHI

Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday directed several of his Cabinet colleagues to take up the responsibility of coordination between the States and the Centre in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The move comes on Day Two of the nationwide lockdown even as disruptions in supply chains and anxieties with regard to migrant workers being left destitute across cities in India were widely reported.

Ministers in charge of various States have been told to speak to the District Magistrate (DM) of every district and keep themselves and the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), Union Home and Health Ministries updated.

“Monitoring will be done every day and the PMO will be kept updated daily as well. This would include keeping track of the number of positive cases in a district, number of those quarantined, how many people were under home quarantine, how many people had arrived in the district from outside, whether there are any hiccups in supply of essential commodities, what was the state of testing and whether enough supplies were there for testing,” said a senior source.

Ministers assigned

Under the plan, Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has been given charge of Rajasthan; Minister of State for Road Transport V.K. Singh of Assam; Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Mahendranath Pandey and Kishan Pal Gujjar of Uttar Pradesh; Highways and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Information Minister Prakash Javadekar of Maharashtra; Dharmendra Pradhan of Odisha; Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of Jharkhand; Arjun Munda of Chhattisgarh; and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan t of Bihar.

Minister of State in the PMO Jitender Singh will be in charge of 22 districts in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Congress backs govt. steps: Sonia

In letter to PM, she offers suggestions

27/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing solidarity with his call for a 21-day lockdown to fight COVID-19 and offering some sector-specific suggestions.

“It has imperilled lives and put at risk the lives and livelihoods of millions, particularly, the most vulnerable sections of our society. The entire nation stands as one in solidarity in the fight to halt and defeat the Corona pandemic,” she said in a letter.

Ms. Gandhi said, “As president of the Indian National Congress, I would like to state that we will support and collaborate fully with every step taken by the Union government to ensure the containment of the pandemic. At this challenging and uncertain time, it is imperative for each one of us to rise above partisan interests and honour our duty towards our country and indeed, towards humanity.”

Ms. Gandhi also offered some suggestions in the spirit of “solidarity and cooperation” for the “massive health crisis we are about to face and to ameliorate the immense economic and existential pain that vulnerable sections of our society will soon be subjected to.”

“I would like to re-emphasise the urgent need to arm our doctors, nurses and health workers with ‘personal protection equipment’,” she said. “Let us ensure the opening and scaling up of manufacture and supply of these items so that not a single health professional faces the predicament of contracting or passing on COVID-19 owing to unavailability of ‘personal protection equipment’. Announcing a special ‘Risk Allowance’ for doctors, nurses and health workers for a period of six months retrospectively from the 1st of March 2020, is imperative.”

Over the last few weeks, there had been much uncertainty about designated hospitals and their locations, number of beds, isolation chambers, ventilators, dedicated medical teams, medical supplies, among others.

Harvesting season

Since the lockdown came just ahead of the harvesting season by March-end and nearly 60% of India’s population being economically dependent on agriculture, the government should take steps to enable harvesting and procurement of crops at minimum support price and suspend all recoveries from farmers for next six months, she said.

The government should either implement the Minimum Income Guarantee Scheme or the ‘NYAY Yojana’, as was proposed by the Congress, or consider a one-time cash payment.