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View Poll Results: Do you support the lockdown extension?
Yes 299 47.46%
No 244 38.73%
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Old 7th April 2020, 19:51   #526
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

The effectiveness of the lockdown in containing the spread of virus has been quantified by an ICMR study, says the Ministry of Health, Government of India.

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...the study indicated that 1 COVID-19 patient can infect 406 people in 30 days if he/she doesn't follow lockdown. In medical terms- this phenomenon is known as R-naught- or R0, a virus’s basic reproductive number — an epidemiologic metric used to describe the contagiousness of infectious agents.

With preventive measures in place, the possibility of the infection can be reduced to an average of just two-and-a-half persons per patient in the same period
Source
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Old 7th April 2020, 20:12   #527
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by civic-sense View Post
... The men in suits who professes to us on TV about this being just another flu, is not worried about you, but only their businesses. They know they would be safe in their palatial mansions even if there is no lockdown.
This kind of misplaced thinking is really what is driving the debate - that somehow advocating for the economy means advocating for self-interest and money. To be clear, it is not money vs. lives here, it is lives vs. lives. See this.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/sta...n-2124948.html

And this...

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india...es/cid/1760595


As per Time of India, Covid fatalities are 124 today, April 7th, 2020. One of the above articles is dated March 30th, and even by that time 17 people had died due to fatigue or starvation. Now, a week later, who knows how many have succumbed? While the authorities are religiously tracking Covid fatalities, there is very little official record of deaths resulting from an economic shutdown.

So, please don't mark those advocating for opening the economy as elitists who are only interested in their wealth portfolios. That is not the case.

Bottom line - shutting down the economy is costing us real lives. Some of those losses are visible immediately, while others will only be visible over time, and some losses of life will remain invisible in the public record forever.

More importantly, we will set back all advances we have collectively made in pulling people above the poverty line. In large swathes, the purchasing power of generations will get affected as fundamental changes are made in the economy.

When presented with these sad deaths of our poor countrymen, people will point to the government's recent steps to provide a basis subsistence income to this strata of the economy. Good. Great. But, where is that money going to come from? Without a functioning economy, there aren't any earnings, and so there isn't a tax base to speak of. So, how are we going to come up with the cash to put millions of our people under welfare schemes? And what about the thousands, or hundreds of thousands of the middle class who will potentially become unemployed, but won't technically qualify for any subsidies? What about them?


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Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR View Post
Countries which said that containment is enough and the economy should not be sacrificed have sacrificed lives and their economy is dead...
As mentioned by other on this thread, there is no hard data available as to which tactic has worked. Your statement that some countries' economies are dead, appears to be based on anecdotal evidence alone. If you have hard numbers as to which country's economy is shattered beyond redemption because they have not locked down, please share.


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Originally Posted by aadya View Post
I request all those people with this viewpoint the volunteer for the Indian government/State government COVID-19 duty. Though practical reason not permitting, it would be nice to see them manning an emergency department reception at-least.
I am sorry sir. But, what really is your point? That unless someone is willing to do the work, then one should not ask questions? With that kind of thinking, then we won't have a right to question anything !!!

Incidentally, do you say that to your boss? Meaning, do you tell him or her, "..if you don't agree with my output, please volunteer to do the work yourself"? Or can we accept that line from any of our elected leaders when they talk to journalists? Meaning, if they say to a reporter, "..if you don't agree with the decision, please sit on this seat and see how difficult it is", should we accept that and move on?

Fact is that the journalist is just doing his job, just as the administrator is doing his.

Of course the job is hard. That is the whole point of big and important jobs. But, no one forced anyone to become an administrator or a politician. People who work in these professions chose their vocation willingly. So, questioning any decision will and should always happen in a free society. That does not mean that those who raise questions are disloyal.

For the record, I have not gone out to even buy milk since March 25th. I am obeying this lockdown to the letter. Also, I participated in the PM's call to demonstrate solidarity on 22nd March and on 5th April.

But, that aside, we should all think about what this lockdown is costing us. It would be irresponsible not to.


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Originally Posted by wheelguy View Post
There are high chances that lockdown can be extended. And I wish it must be extended..
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Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis View Post
...The right time for removing the lock down should be a week of continuous dwindling new cases. And as and when that happens, the lock down should be released in phases (in 3-4 weeks) with the current quarantine areas still under monitoring.
Money can be earned back, lost lives won't be.
I apologize if this comes across as rude or as condescending, because that certainly is not my intention. But, really people who are glibly talking about extending this lockdown indefinitely need to get a grip on reality.

Just because you have money now and are sitting in the comfort of your home does not make you immune to economic pain. Thinking along such lines would be hugely unwise. Everyone is just a few degrees of separation away from that migrant labourer making that hellish trek home under the baking sun.

Just 2 weeks into this lockdown and the economy is getting thrashed by all sorts of shock waves. So, you receiving a pay check is just today's reality. There is no telling what will happen to your job, or to your business, or to your pension tomorrow. Most importantly, that tomorrow isn't some horizon far far away; it could be as close as the next month or the next quarter. Think hard about that.

So, please stop mouthing platitudes without thinking about how a family, whether that family is yours or any one else's, will survive if some or all of their economic power is obliterated by the time this lockdown is lifted.


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Originally Posted by m8002? View Post
..Many of us in IT are relatively well off with WFH and full pay. Many have even given fully paid leave for domestic helps. But there is a much larger India out there without work and cash flow to keep the business running...
People in IT are not a world unto themselves. When both supply and demand disappears in regular economy, IT is bound to get hit big time because all the customers are in the regular economy.

Remember this. If people at your workplace - be it your boss or your management or your customer - are literally not being driven crazy by your absence and are therefore looking for every loophole to get you to come work, then you should be very worried. In fact, you should be worried regardless. Because once this lockdown is lifted, companies are going to look for every which way to optimise costs and that's when we will all find out where we stand. Even if you keep your job, it is highly likely that you will have to work for a lot less. Apna Prime Minister ka pagaar kat gaya tho hum kyaa cheez hain?


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Originally Posted by carboy View Post
If downfall happens, it doesn't mean virus has got bored and gone away. As soon as you lift the lockdown, it will start again & you will again see quick rise....
Absolutely correct. There is no guarantee that a lockdown will solve everything 100%. If the virus can survive for days on surfaces and on fecal matter, then it is just a matter of time before we see a reemergence. What will do then?

Last edited by mohansrides : 7th April 2020 at 20:35.
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Old 7th April 2020, 21:07   #528
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by mohansrides View Post
I apologize if this comes across as rude or as condescending, because that certainly is not my intention. But, really people who are glibly talking about extending this lockdown indefinitely need to get a grip on reality.

Just because you have money now and are sitting in the comfort of your home does not make you immune to economic pain. Thinking along such lines would be hugely unwise. Everyone is just a few degrees of separation away from that migrant labourer making that hellish trek to home under the baking sun.

Just 2 weeks into this lockdown and the economy is getting thrashed by all sorts of shock waves. So, you receiving a pay check is just today's reality. There is no telling what will happen to your job, or to your business, or to your pension tomorrow. Most importantly, that tomorrow isn't some horizon far far away; it could be as close as the next month or the next quarter. Think hard about that.

So, please stop mouthing platitudes without thinking about how a family, whether that family is yours or any one else's, will survive if some or all of their economic power is obliterated by the time this lockdown is lifted.
Heavy words there, neither do I have any intentions against any class of people. It's just that I fear it might become uncontrollable if the lockdown was lifted without getting a grip on the pandemic. Migrant laborers or anyone else including you and me, first we need to live to do anything in the future. Neither I am writing away the economic pain nor I am disregarding it. Adequate measures should be taken to look after everyone who is in need while continuing the lockdown is what I am saying.

Sure there are a multitude of things to be considered, everyone adds one perspective/view to the issue at hand, why come down heavy on one who had a different thought than yours instead of simply saying/adding your thoughts. Lastly, reality is not absolute.

Last edited by wheelguy : 7th April 2020 at 21:23.
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Old 8th April 2020, 11:00   #529
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by mohansrides View Post
I am sorry sir. But, what really is your point? That unless someone is willing to do the work, then one should not ask questions? With that kind of thinking, then we won't have a right to question anything !!!

My point is when you do not face the heat yourselves you won't understand the seriousness for the situation. My offer to volunteer is to feel that heat in real time. If lockdown is lifted there would be flooding of cases in the emergency room and you would soon run out of doctors and other Health Care professionals- who would die faster than the people from other sectors, who would follow suit to the graveyards and incinerators in bulk with better bank balance.

We would all be beggars if economy is closed down for six months or one year but our requirements would be minimal meantime and most of the ills are due to very high economic activity. Stopping it for time being would not harm the society. We can delay weapons purchases, space programme, Building new airports and concentrate on Core sectors.

Government would support BPL to an extent. Where are the death statistics due to starvation. I have clearly mentioned death due to all causes has decreased. If you do not believe health department statistics. Municipal records would soon get it into light.

Very few people would die of starvation as PDS is well oiled machinery and with removal of corruption we would be sustaining for few more weeks if not months. Agriculture activities may not be high now till the onset of monsoon. And we should get on top of this disease by then.

My point people should not take Contrarian position and take the job of only questioning without knowing the realities, just to prove the point. I probably would not be around soon to prove anything if lock down becomes a failure and we face US/Italy like situation. The longer the lockdown we have better understanding of the disease and capability to manage it.
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Old 8th April 2020, 11:08   #530
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by aadya View Post
If lockdown is lifted there would be flooding of cases in the emergency room and you would soon run out of doctors and other Health Care professionals- who would die faster than the people from other sectors, who would follow suit to the graveyards and incinerators in bulk with better bank balance.
That is a scary scenario indeed. No one wants that for sure. We are all grateful for the work you medical professionals are doing in literally the front lines. Thank you.

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Originally Posted by aadya View Post
The longer the lockdown we have better understanding of the disease and capability to manage it.
So is there no possibility of selective lifting of lock downs in places where there have been no new cases? Would it be medically sound for different places to have different levels of lock down based on some data like rate of new cases or something like that? Is it to be only a nation-wide lock down?

(Asking these questions because as lay people, we read a lot of these things and so naturally wonder. Of course epidemiologists and doctors with their experiences will be best placed to take the call based on the particular situation on the ground.)
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Old 8th April 2020, 11:17   #531
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

Quote:
Originally Posted by mohansrides View Post
I apologize if this comes across as rude or as condescending, because that certainly is not my intention. But, really people who are glibly talking about extending this lockdown indefinitely need to get a grip on reality.

Just because you have money now and are sitting in the comfort of your home does not make you immune to economic pain. Thinking along such lines would be hugely unwise. Everyone is just a few degrees of separation away from that migrant labourer making that hellish trek home under the baking sun.

Well I wanted to post a long winded reply with all the numbers and screenshots but then I realized the pain behind your reply and I totally understand.
But a part of me can't help but compare it to what President Trump said during early March as well, or what Italy did earlier in Feb or even Spain.
All of these countries prioritized business and economy over health (& rightly so 'cos at that time they had no inkling about the seriousness). But we do! We know what this disease is capable of.
Allowing everyone to simply throng the market/ day to day affair is blatantly irresponsible and reeks of hypocrisy especially when even businessmen like Mr. Bajaj resort to hyperbole and misdirection (even selling snake-oil).
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I’m dismayed that despite having a full-fledged Ayush ministry and being the world’s centre of excellence in homoeopathy, India has barred homoeopaths and naturopaths from offering affordable, scalable solutions, especially given that homoeopathy is universally acknowledged to have no inimical side effects.
We are at a cusp of public health emergency. Given our population and medical infrastructure, a collapse of the system is best avoided, to put it mildly.
I understand your pain, but the catastrophe of community transmission, as of now, is simply too high to lift the lock-down.
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Old 8th April 2020, 11:54   #532
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

Quote:
Originally Posted by mohansrides View Post
This kind of misplaced thinking is really what is driving the debate - that somehow advocating for the economy means advocating for self-interest and money. To be clear, it is not money vs. lives here, it is lives vs. lives.

While the authorities are religiously tracking Covid fatalities, there is very little official record of deaths resulting from an economic shutdown.

So, please don't mark those advocating for opening the economy as elitists who are only interested in their wealth portfolios. That is not the case.

Bottom line - shutting down the economy is costing us real lives. Some of those losses are visible immediately, while others will only be visible over time, and some losses of life will remain invisible in the public record forever.

Just because you have money now and are sitting in the comfort of your home does not make you immune to economic pain. Thinking along such lines would be hugely unwise. Everyone is just a few degrees of separation away from that migrant labourer making that hellish trek home under the baking sun.

People in IT are not a world unto themselves. When both supply and demand disappears in regular economy, IT is bound to get hit big time because all the customers are in the regular economy.
Thank you @mohanrides. Our views are in a minority of two on this thread. It has not yet fully sunk into the employee community that this is not a question of bada seth economy & stock exchange gains versus lives but livelihoods & lives on one side and health & lives on the other. One of the first industries, sadly, that will be hit will be IT Services.

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Originally Posted by aadya View Post
My point is when you do not face the heat yourselves you won't understand the seriousness for the situation. My offer to volunteer is to feel that heat in real time. If lockdown is lifted there would be flooding of cases in the emergency room and you would soon run out of doctors and other Health Care professionals
Doctor, all of us admire respect and are grateful for the yeoman work being done by the medical fraternity in combating this crises. My sincere & personal thanks to you and your colleagues. Please stay safe. A citizen like @mohanrides or anyone else does have the right to raise questions. We cannot assume the Govt does things right every time.
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Where are the death statistics due to starvation. Very few people would die of starvation as PDS is well oiled machinery and with removal of corruption we would be sustaining for few more weeks if not months.
Doctor, allow me to disagree. Death due to starvation or malnutrition are two versions of each other. I do not have figures for the whole population range but for under 5-year olds Govt numbers say 706,000 kids die each year due to malnutrition. This is for the 0 to 5 age group ie 68% of the child & infant mortality in India is due to malnutrition (slow starvation). I assume the figures for the full population must be a few lakhs more per annum. The PDS or now the DBT system does work infinitely better with far far less corruption today than it did prior to 2014. However I know it is not perfect and does not cover all who need it. I speak from personal observation but this is not the place to go into that.
Quote:
The longer the lockdown we have better understanding of the disease and capability to manage it.
Agree 100%. Will need to balance it with survival of the poor and survival of employer organizations. Expect a few million micro & small enterprises to fold up and taking away millions of livelihoods with them. It is a devil versus deep sea conundrum.
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Originally Posted by am1m View Post
So is there no possibility of selective lifting of lock downs in places where there have been no new cases? Would it be medically sound for different places to have different levels of lock down based on some data like rate of new cases or something like that? Is it to be only a nation-wide lock down?

(Asking these questions because as lay people, we read a lot of these things and so naturally wonder. Of course epidemiologists and doctors with their experiences will be best placed to take the call based on the particular situation on the ground.)
I am not a doctor but a phased out opening of a lockdown would be like setting aside one section of the swimming pool where peeing is permitted!! Three weeks versus 5 weeks of lockdown creates roughly the same pain for people, livelihoods and the economy. Personally I don't like this lockdown. But now that we are in it if we have to go for 5 weeks the time is now not after a break in the lockdown. Just one man's view.

Last edited by V.Narayan : 8th April 2020 at 11:57.
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Old 8th April 2020, 12:08   #533
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post
Three weeks versus 5 weeks of lockdown creates roughly the same pain for people, livelihoods and the economy. Personally I don't like this lockdown. But now that we are in it if we have to go for 5 weeks the time is now not after a break in the lockdown. Just one man's view.
Fair enough. The reason I keep going back to this possibility is because it's being discussed seriously as a strategy and personally it makes sense to me. Like this for example: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/...254430764.html

I won't stretch your swimming pool analogy, but from what I understand of this phased lifting of lock downs the idea is to more strictly lock down the districts and neighborhoods that have a large number of positive cases and seal them off more effectively from the unaffected ones.

But I'm certainly no expert or even very well informed about the realities on the ground.
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Old 8th April 2020, 12:36   #534
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post
But now that we are in it if we have to go for 5 weeks the time is now not after a break in the lockdown. Just one man's view.

Why 5? Why not 10? What magic is going to happen after 5 weeks?
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Old 8th April 2020, 12:53   #535
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by carboy View Post
Why 5? Why not 10? What magic is going to happen after 5 weeks?
I have merely quoted 5 as an example to make the point. Let the Govt with the help of its health, economic and social advisers figure out the right duration. The businesses I used to own and the ones I've invested in I know can survive a second payroll date with a lockdown - that will be about 5 weeks. Even the largest companies will not be able to sustain a third payroll date (31st May) with zero or marginal revenues.

GST collection in March 2020 i.e. pertaining to the month of February was INR 97,000 crores~about 8% to 9% below the needed 105,000 crores. In April pertaining to March I would be surprised if the collection gets beyond a range of INR 75 to 80,000. For May i.e. pertaining to trade & production in April expect GST to be well below INR 50,000. The need to find the cash to deposit GST when the customers are not paying alone will cause a large number of micro and small businesses to fold in. These are just my views. Experts may have a different perspective.

Last edited by V.Narayan : 8th April 2020 at 12:55.
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Old 8th April 2020, 12:54   #536
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by carboy View Post
Why 5? Why not 10? What magic is going to happen after 5 weeks?
If we can consider the example of China, another 2 weeks can be very beneficial considering the first few days of the lock down were not very productive everywhere, especially UP/ NCR. I am sure there will be more such pockets.

Rather than keeping all places locked, we should consider relaxations with strict border control in places where this got implemented even before national lock down like here in Chandigarh and Punjab. There have been no new cases in Chandigarh and the recent ones in Punjab were from a known group.

It will be anybody’s guess what will be the benefits of opening the trade in isolation. However, if we can give Industrial units a priority, it will surely help.

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post
Even the largest companies will not be able to sustain a third payroll date (31st May) with zero or marginal revenues.
In April pertaining to March INR 75 to 80,000. For May i.e. pertaining to trade & production in April expect GST to be well below INR 50,000. .
You are correct, Sir. If business can operate from 15th, we still get 2 weeks. It will be easier to continue the payrolls but if everything remains lockdown, I don't think small businesses or traders will able to pay. Automotive sales add a substantial numbers to GST collections and seeing the data of March sales, my guess is that we will look at much fewer numbers than you have mentioned.

Also, state Governments earn a lot from Land registries and Automobile RTO besides the sale of Petrol and Alcohol. There will be very little collections and the states won't able to pay salaries or pensions going forward. I was speaking to a state Government employee; they have paid salaries to Group D employees yesterday. They don't know when will the officers get the salaries and how much.

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Originally Posted by carboy View Post
I am sure lockdowns are very good at slowing transmission. transmission will speed up again. All it takes is 1 infected person remaining behind after those 5 weeks or 10 weeks who will then infect 2 people, who will infect 4 people & after a few weeks we will be back to square 1.
You are correct and nobody has an answer, that's the reason I referred to the China. But the problem is if they are sharing Truth? I still can't believe how this infection spread over across the world, but China, apart from Wuhan remained unaffected.

That’s the reason I strongly support partial opening up, containing clusters and monitoring open areas. I am sure most people will now behave differently than they were 4 weeks before. All such efforts should help.

Last edited by Turbanator : 8th April 2020 at 13:18.
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Old 8th April 2020, 13:08   #537
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by Turbanator View Post
If we can consider the example of China, another 2 weeks can be very beneficial considering the first few days of the lock down were not very productive everywhere, especially UP/ NCR. I am sure there will be more such pockets.
I am sure lockdowns are very good at slowing transmission. Nobody ever disputed that. But whenever lockdowns are ended be it 3 weeks or 5 weeks or 8 weeks, transmission will speed up again. All it takes is 1 infected person remaining behind after those 5 weeks or 10 weeks who will then infect 2 people, who will infect 4 people & after a few weeks we will be back to square 1.

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post
I have merely quoted 5 as an example to make the point. Let the Govt with the help of its health, economic and social advisers figure out the right duration.
The right duration is a very, very long time. Either till 60-70% of the population are infected & recovered so that herd immunity is achieved. Or till a vaccine is available & production is scaled up vaccinate 60-70% of the population so that herd immunity is achieved.

And if we long down for the right duration, then majority of the country will be dead from hunger. We here, are the elite. We can afford being locked down. But for majority of the population of our country, they don't eat if they aren't working for a few days.

Last edited by carboy : 8th April 2020 at 13:13.
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Old 8th April 2020, 13:13   #538
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

In addition, I wonder how folks with very young kids (say <1-yr) are doing - vaccinations might be on hold; any visit to health centres / clinics are full of risks; avoiding going to clinics could also be a risk. I think it's much more challenging for first time parents who may not have any other support at home.

In addition, I was reading an article that was hinting at potential baby boom during December 2020 / Jan 2021 period. Hospitals might have their hands full well beyond capacity for multiple reasons.

At our apartment complex, the iron guy (who presses clothes) reached out to us for help. He (with family) was very badly affected. Luckily lot of people stepped up to offer help - monetary, supplies, and whatever else that might be considered necessary for the times. Many such people might not even have a recourse where they can safely reach out to someone for help.

Hope things get back to normal soon with health and economy back on its feet (with added wings would be a bonus)!
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Old 8th April 2020, 13:44   #539
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post
Death due to starvation or malnutrition are two versions of each other.
Really? Because you can easily substitute one statistic for another since the original one lacks the desired bite? He was talking about using the PDS system to avoid starvation deaths. And you bring up malnutrition in kids to counter that. The govt had announced that it has food grain reserves to feed every person in this country for four months.
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I do not have figures for the whole population range but for under 5-year olds Govt numbers say 706,000 kids die each year due to malnutrition. This is for the 0 to 5 age group ie 68% of the child & infant mortality in India is due to malnutrition (slow starvation). I assume the figures for the full population must be a few lakhs more per annum.
That surely is a matter of concern, and needs to be addressed. Am sure there are people already working on it, without which the numbers would have been higher. But that is no reason to prevent us from addressing the issue at hand now. Maybe if malnutrition was contagious and every malnourished person could pass it on to 3 other person, we would have been worrying more. Again, 706000 is less than 2000 per day, while we are looking at a number greater than 14000 per day if the virus is not kept in check.
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a phased out opening of a lockdown would be like setting aside one section of the swimming pool where peeing is permitted!!
Honestly I couldn't understand your analogy - any I guess it is just me. But my layman brain tells me this: China lifted the lock-down on Wuhan yesterday after almost 3 months. And if we can believe what China is saying, they were able to contain the virus during this time. We started early, so we might only need a shorter lock-down. So we should at least try and see whether it works. Every major country who said business as usual resorted to a lock-down or emergency afterwards. And countries who delayed it had to suffer heavier casualties. The world do not have an answer to this virus, Everybody is throwing at the wall to see if it sticks. It is better to try and fail than lay back and let the virus kill you.
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Old 8th April 2020, 14:11   #540
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re: India on full lockdown. Edit: Now extended with relaxations till June 30, 2020

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Originally Posted by civic-sense View Post
Really? Because you can easily substitute one statistic for another since the original one lacks the desired bite? He was talking about using the PDS system to avoid starvation deaths. And you bring up malnutrition in kids to counter that. The govt had announced that it has food grain reserves to feed every person in this country for four months.
Sir if a reasonable and useful discussion is to emerge on this thread we all need to keep our writings civil and professional. I work in the field of malnutrition & feeding of those who need it. I am sharing what I have learnt over the years. If you know differently please share it for everyone's benefit. The Govt may announce what ever it wishes on food grain reserves. I suspect from your comment you have absolutely no idea of the leakages and price distortions in the distribution system and how grains don't reach the ones who need it at one end while they lie in storage at the other. I have no desire to write on it here. You may wish to read up on it.

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That surely is a matter of concern, and needs to be addressed. Am sure there are people already working on it, without which the numbers would have been higher. But that is no reason to prevent us from addressing the issue at hand now. Maybe if malnutrition was contagious and every malnourished person could pass it on to 3 other person, we would have been worrying more. Again, 706000 is less than 2000 per day, while we are looking at a number greater than 14000 per day if the virus is not kept in check.
The previous writer asked where are the statistics on death by starvation. I gave him the closest statistic available. Not sure why you are linking that fact with Covid-19. The two are not a zero sum game. The fine difference between death by starvation and death by malnutrition, which clearly interests you, may be lost on the person suffering.
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