-TheWire.in In the 19th century, fierce opposition from Indians to epidemic control measures forced British officials to reach out to community leaders for help. This could help India tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many terrains where public health and religion cross paths, but epidemics are certainly the most bumpy. Contemporary examples include the large gatherings of people at several religious sites in India, including the Nizamuddin markaz and an Akkalkot temple,...

-International Labour Organisation News The COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic effect on working hours and earnings, globally. A new ILO report highlights some of the worst affected sectors and regions, and outlines policies to mitigate the crisis. GENEVA: The COVID-19 crisis  is expected to wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of 2020 – equivalent to 195 million full-time workers. Large reductions are foreseen in the...

-The New Indian Express In a chat with The New Indian Express Editor GS Vasu, the internationally renowned medical expert shares two key findings that give India reason to hope. HYDERABAD: At a time of paranoia and panic over how long this corona-fuelled lockdown may stretch, internationally-renowned medical expert Dr D Nageshwar Reddy has good news. "This is something we can easily conquer. There’s no need to panic,” he says, while adding...

-Scroll.in The country must rethink its strategy of epidemic management to be more inclusive of the marginalised sections of the society. How do you discuss self quarantine with a person sharing a tiny shanty with 10 people in a slum? How do you advise social distancing to a manual scavenger? How do you tell an Adivasi, who struggles for one meal a day, to prioritise hand sanitisers? How do you educate tuberculosis...

-The Hindu In their response to the pandemic, countries have hardly evinced concern about the health and well-being of workers The coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease is the first neoliberal virus in the world. To say so is not to reduce its dangers — particularly to the already vulnerable, such as the old, the ill or the poor (who cannot isolate without starving) — but to criticise how it has been...