6 The sudden lockdown imposed a significant burden on the urban poor and migrants, who found themselves both out of work and with no means to return to their villages.Īt the time of the lockdown, India had officially counted about 500 cases of COVID-19 and 10 deaths because of the contagion. 5 Although a state-level or more localized lockdown would have been preferable, the precise locations of disease hotspots were unknown because of low levels of testing. On March 24, a national lockdown was announced with 4 hours’ notice. President Donald Trump, were held as late as February 24, although disease transmission was well underway in Europe at that time. Large public events, including one to greet U.S. How did India respond and how has it fared? The Indian government responded to COVID-19 with temperature screening of incoming passengers on flights from East Asia. In comparison, 22% of the population of Italy and 10% of that of China are older than 65 years.ĬOVID-19 RESPONSE AND THE STATUS OF THE PANDEMIC IN INDIA 4 On the plus side, it was hypothesized that India’s relatively young population-65% of India’s population is younger than 35 years, and only 6% is older than 65 years-would be spared high mortality from a disease that targets the elderly. Although children were found less likely to be infected in China 3 and other countries, it was unclear how children in India, who have high levels of stunting and early exposure to infections, would fare against SARS-CoV-2. The Indian population has high rates of uncontrolled hypertension 1 and diabetes, 2 both of which have been shown to be risk factors for severe COVID-19 and mortality. A dense population, especially in urban settings, could exacerbate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Although it is possible that the SARS-CoV-2 was circulating in India earlier, the first known secondary transmission of the virus within India was reported only in early March.Įven when the case load was low, India was predicted to be at high risk for COVID-19 for a number of reasons. The first reported case of infection with the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in India was reported on Januin an Indian student evacuated from Wuhan, and the first death was reported on March 12, 2020. India was fortunate not to be among the first countries hit by COVID-19.
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