Stay positive, win the battle
Your interview with Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan brought forward his views in a cogent manner (‘Community-led interventions are vital’, April 19). When compared with western nations, India has been successful to an extent in containing the spread of the virus, notwithstanding the economic and social fallout.
It would be prudent to lift the lockdown in a phased manner, if and when the pandemic shows signs of receding. An early lockdown initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has halted the virus from spreading its tentacles far and wide. With the onset of the second phase of the lockdown, we must continue to maintain the gains. Like it is said, the sunrays at dawn dispel all the darkness of the night.
So, our resilience and positive attitude should sound the death knell for coronavirus.
Also, it is important that we shed hatred, violence, communal tension and other stereotypes confronting mankind at this time. They are more harmful than the virus.
Vijay Singh Adhikari,
On email.
It feels good to have a doctor as the Union health minister in these difficult times. There was a lot of clarity in what Harsh Vardhan said as he knows the subject well. I feel every ministry should have a specialist or someone who knows the field well as the minister. This will help in efficiently managing the day-to-day affairs of the ministry. Even bureaucracy works well that way. There are so many doctors in the Indian Administrative Service. The situation demands that most of them be posted in the health ministry, be it at the state or at the Centre.
Tapesh Nagpal,
On email.
An exit strategy from the lockdown must be area-wise or region-wise, after making sure that the area is 100 per cent corona-free. Such exits cannot be based on generic statistics, average statistics, centralised decisions and state decisions.
M. Vislesha Sahasra,
On email.
Lockdown cannot be a permanent solution to tackle the virus. It can only slow the spread of the virus. It is very important to periodically look at the state of the economy at this time, and make sure that the extended lockdown ends at the right time, soon enough. Indians, by and large, have followed social distancing norms and I do not see any reason why that will not continue in the months to come.
Tigin Thomas,
On email.
Your report on how days of isolation for Covid-19 patients can be mentally challenging was interesting. A 14-day quarantine will become a mandatory requirement from now on for not only Covid-19 patients, but also everyone visiting India from abroad once the lockdown ends.
These days one gets the feeling that time is passing very slowly, unless one is engaged in something productive every day. It is quite normal to experience fear, confusion, anger and irritability during lockdown. They say it is the extroverts who struggle more during this time than the introverts.
We are lucky that such an episode in our lives is taking place in 2020, when technology is playing an important role in connecting us with our family and friends. Twenty years ago, if coronavirus had struck us, it would have made all our lives miserable.
Gaurav Trivedi,
On email.
It is a matter of pride that we have some of the oldest Covid-19 survivors in India. It speaks volumes of the kind of care we are providing to ailing patients, especially in the state of Kerala. It is definitely a boost for Kerala’s medics and administrators. If proper care is given to old patients right from the beginning, they will survive the battle, in all likelihood.
Vrinda Gopi,
On email.
Don’t support the Chinese now
Jwala Gutta says who are we to question the culture and the eating habits of the Chinese (‘Point blank’, April 19). She has a point. But the fact is today the entire world is suffering because of some unusual habits of the Chinese. Why encourage those habits?
Nobody is against China and its people. It is a beautiful country laden with beautiful, down-to-earth people. But, it is about time we told them to change their eating habits.
Post-Covid, wet markets, be it anywhere in the world, should become a thing of the past.
Devender Tokas,
On email.
Tech-savvy politicos
It is good to see leading politicians, across party lines, working online these days. But I am not sure whether this would continue for long (‘Screen play’, April 19). In the US, presidential elections are assessed by people on television, with interesting debates between candidates. But Indian politicians are not made for it I guess. Video conference can work here for strategising and planning things, but it will take a long time to campaign digitally in elections here.
Nandu Kishore,
On email.
Onus on them
I am okay with the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi (‘Mounting trouble’, April 19). Around that time there were many other religious gatherings of similar nature across the country. But the manner in which some of the Tablighi participants roamed free all over the country, hiding their details, and mingling with so many, was where the problem began. That cannot be tolerated. States like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra saw a spurt in Covid-19 cases only after people who attended the event reached back these states.
Tanushri Nagori,
On email.