INTRODUCTION
India witnessed an outbreak of the COVID-19, otherwise known as Coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2 in late January 2020 when three Indian students travelled to the southern state of Kerala from Wuhan in China – the epicentre of the outbreak. All three tested positive for COVID-19, confirming a local contagion. At the same time, several other cases were also detected in other parts of the country, most of which were linked to people with a travel history to the affected countries such as China, Italy and Europe etc.
Infections increased rapidly since March along with a significant growth in testing. However, in June 2020, India’s fatality rate for positive COVID-19 cases stood at about 2.8 percent, whereas unlike in other regions of the world, this does not include unreported infections or delays from illness to death. The state of Kerala has been commended for acting speedily in containing further spread of the virus. Thousands were consistently being placed under home quarantine or in institutional quarantine, constantly monitored for further symptoms and infections. However, India had one of the lowest rates for the virus compared to other countries, despite ramping up over recent months.
By March, there were 500 confirmed positive cases of Covid-19, and the Prime Minister issued a nation-wide lockdown. This lockdown was imposed at the stroke on March 24 for a duration of 21 days. Since then, it has been one long scramble to contain the situation by trying to minimize physical contact, setting up containment zones and conducting wide-spread testing. However, a complete lockdown was never a viable long-term solution. Over the course of the last few months, efforts have been made continuously to ease the country back to some semblance of normalcy. Lockdown restrictions were gradually eased, protocols were put in place to ensure social distancing and proper sanitation and international travel began, albeit in a very limited capacity. With face masks and hand sanitizers becoming the new normal, it’s time to examine the timeline of events that led to this new world order.
MARCH
The period of a speedy surge began in March. The luxurious trips and the happy moments spent by the people turned their near future full of sufferings and misery. The government started to take better measures as a result. International passenger screenings at airports started as a first step to limit this disease. However, the first major blow came on 12th March when the first confirmed death took place. As a necessary step, on 13th March, the government suspended visas of all non-essential travellers. Within another three days, the suspension of crossing the passenger land border took place. On 22nd March, Janta Curfew was announced by the Prime Minister. All the passenger air travels got suspended till further notice. A big halt came into the daily life of people when the PM announced a nationwide lockdown on 25th of March till 14th April. For the betterment of the people, the Government of India announced the 24 March 2020 certain relief measures in view of COVID-19 outbreak. On 26th March, INR 1.7 trillion relief package was announced by the Finance Minister. A little ray of hope came when the news of 100 recoveries came into light on 30th March but it further went to dismay on 31st March when the Tabhliqi Jamat took place.
APRIL
The period of April was a period of depression for the people where every source of income collapsed and the people got stuck away from their families without any financial help. A sharp increase in both the number of new cases, deaths as well as recoveries took place. On 14th April, the PM announced the extension of nationwide lockdown till the 3rd of May and the people were advised to stay at their homes. The small businesses got sacked up and the mental health cases rose up by more than 20%. Education sectors got stopped and all the examinations got postponed till further notice. Everything went into the room of darkness and the people fell into the grip of depression. The government tried to give the first instalment upfront for fiscal year starting April 2020. About 86.9 million farmers were expected to benefit from this immediately. MNREGA workers’ wage increased from INR 182/- to INR 202/-.with a hope amount into an additional income of INR 2,000/- per worker. 200 million woman Jan Dhan account holders were given ex-gratia amount of INR 500 per month for the next 3 months, to run the affairs of their household. For 630,000 Self-help Groups (SHGs), which help 70 million households, the government announced the doubling collateral-free loans to Rs 200,000.
MAY
Lockdown 2.0 started in April and continues till May and included all the above mentioned changes. Further, foreign national got the permission to leave India up to 14 days from 3 May 2020 i.e. 17 May 2020 without levy of penalty for overstay. The third wave of Lockdown 3.0 came along with the extension to the previous one where all above mentioned changes were extended till 17 May 2020. Similarly, came the Lockdown 4.0 where all above mentioned changes extended till 31 May 2020. The Visa free travel facility for OCI card holders who are not in India presently, was kept in abeyance till the date of lifting of prohibition on international air travel of passengers. With insecurities of a new recession and economic crisis, key moments such as these called for strong and powerful governance in health, business, government, and large society. Almost all economic activity got cut off by the lockdown. In metropolitan areas, a significant loss of wages took place and employment for migrant workers and the homeless prevailed. he shutdown caused problems for migrant workers and the poor who lives unstable conditions and expected to face hunger and deprivation. Indian Government reacted strongly to the situation and declared a $22 billion support scheme that comprises groceries and money transfers.
JUNE
India’s early misadventure with Chinese antibody testing kits in April had put a stop to the predilection for rapid tests, at least in the short term. But June brought learnings about the importance of antibody tests in understanding both the width and the depth of the pandemic. ICMR’s survey of 0.73 per cent of those tested in 65 districts did not make much of a dent. But when a survey was conducted in the 11 districts of Delhi, soon after Union Home Minister Amit Shah stepped in to deal with Delhi’s rapidly increasing Covid infections, it threw up startling results. India registered the highest-ever spike of 2,003 COVID-19 deaths as Maharashtra and Delhi added ‘backlog’ fatalities to their data. After reporting 100,000 cases on May 19, India adds 100,000 cases in 15, 10, 8 and 5 days respectively to bring the total number of cases to half a million. In june, Unlock 0.1 got introduced .
States geared up for opening up of offices, malls and religious places in phased manner. With the Centre allowing re-opening of malls, hotels, restaurants and places of worship from June 8 in Phase of unwinding, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for these to contain the spread of the novel corona virus (Covid-19). Across businesses, those above 65 years and other immuno-compromised individuals were advised to stay home. In its May 30th order, the Centre, however, empowered states to prohibit certain activities or put suitable restrictions if they deem it necessary for containment of the Covid outbreak.
JULY
ICMR DG Bhargava set the tone for a fresh discourse when, in a startling letter on 2 July, he told principal investigators of a Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech, which was in the pre-clinical stage, that trials needed to be completed by 15 August. Much water has flown under the bridge since then, with the ICMR explaining that no compromise was intended on scientific rigour, but the spotlight has since remained firmly on vaccines. Zydus Cadila has started its own Phase I and II trials, while the Serum Institute of India has got the nod for trying out the Oxford University vaccine in India. The world over, there are 141 vaccine candidates in pre-clinical phases and 26 in different phases of clinical trials, including the three regarded as the most promising — the Moderna mRNA vaccine, the Oxford vaccine and a vaccine developed by China currently being tested on personnel of its People’s Liberation Army. The new guidelines came in effect on Wednesday, July 1, and extend till the end of the month. Lockdown continued in containment zones until July 31. The government restricted movement of individuals from 10 pm to 5 am, and added that not more than five people would be allowed in a shop. As per the guidelines, schools and colleges would remain closed till July 31. Metro services, cinema halls, gyms, swimming pools, theatres, bars, social and religious gatherings also remain barred.
AUGUST
The month of August started with further efforts of normalizing everyday life. It started with Unlock 3.0. This new protocol saw the removal of night curfews and opened up public spaces like gymnasiums and yoga centers from August 5. Educational institutions, however, remained closed till August 31. All transportation and travel, both inter and intra-state, started to resume with proper precautions and permits. With Independence Day on the horizon at this point, celebrations were permitted with social distancing. States were granted more regional autonomy with respect to imposing and implementing lockdowns. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu imposed a lockdown for the whole month, while West Bengal imposed lockdowns twice a week. This was ultimately followed by Unlock 4.0, from the month of September onwards. The central government held the Join Entrance Examinations (JEE) amidst the pandemic. This decision was heavily criticized by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, who claimed that only 25% of JEE aspirants appeared for the exam. The JEE is a very stressful and important exam that students spend almost two years preparing for. Add to that the uncertainty and health risks due to the pandemic and it becomes a recipe for disaster. Apart from the JEE, holding exams has become a cause for concern in different corners of the nation as well. With repeated postponements, it remains uncertain when Delhi University (DU) will finally conduct the controversial online open book examinations (OBE) for its roughly 2.25 lakh final year/semester students of both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Amid widespread opposition from all stakeholders of the university, and reprimands from the Delhi High Court, the university is readying itself to carry out the exercise.
UNLOCK 4.0
New guidelines of Unlock 4.0 were released on Saturday by the government. The MHA order allows certain phased re-opening of activities in the fourth round of unlock, it has continued to extend lockdown in containment zones till September 30. A day after the Union Home Ministry issued a new set of guidelines for ‘Unlock 4.0’, allowing significant relaxations, several states started coming up with their own set of rules for September. While Haryana withdrew its order to keep markets in urban areas closed on Monday and Tuesday, Tamil Nadu announced scrapping of e-pass system within districts and allowed government and private offices to function with 100 per cent staff. Owing to the recentness of the new unlock protocol, it is difficult to make provide an informed opinion about the success or failure of Unlock 4.0. For now, all we can do is hope that it doesn’t result in a spike in the number of Covid-19 positive cases.
CONCLUSION
After months of lockdown and a plummeting economy, it is time to start shifting things back to normal. With no end in sight to the pandemic, it is both impractical and impossible to impose a lockdown for months on end. Medical experts have warned the government that a long-term lockdown is no solution. They said that the government must stopping putting all their eggs in the vaccine basket, and make their policies with the idea that a vaccine will not be available in the near future. Graded opening of schools and colleges is necessary, which is what Unlock 4.0 has addressed. With the GDP dropping more than 20% and the number of new Covid-positive cases on the rise, it is time to resume normal life with strict precautions to check viral transmission. As of now, it is too early to tell whether Unlock 4.0 will be a success. We can only hope at this point that it will go according to plan and people will see a slow return to usual life
