-CaravanMagazine.in A national task force on COVID-19, comprising 21 leading scientists from across the country, which was supposed to advise the Narendra Modi government on its response to the pandemic, did not meet even once in the week preceding the announcement to extend the nationwide lockdown, according to four members of the group of experts. In a national broadcast on 14 April, Modi announced the decision to extend the lockdown till...

-The Indian Express Efficacy of universal lockdown isn’t completely endorsed, nor is there indisputable evidence to suggest it is optimal response. As the country approaches the end of its nationwide lockdown on April 14, one question dominates national discourse: Should India extend the lockdown? Never before has India confronted a public policy dilemma that impacts the lives and fates of millions so critically. A number of states have already announced extension of the...

-The Hindu Until trial results are out, countries like India must focus on interventions such as largescale testing, isolation, contact-tracing, and physical distancing, says Madhukar Pai, Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology & Global Health Madhukar Pai, is Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology & Global Health and Director, McGill Global Health Programs and Professor at McGill University. In an email interview to The Hindu, he explains the debate on BCG vaccine’s purported effectiveness...

-ThePrint.in In episode 437 of #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta delves into the containment plan released by the Indian government and how Rajasthan's Bhilwara successfully curbed Covid-19. New Delhi: The government of India has released a containment plan for large outbreaks. The plan is based on the Bhilwara model — Rajasthan government’s strategy in the Bhilwara district, which is a Covid-19 hotspot. The Bhilwara district is 530 kilometres from Delhi, in Rajasthan. In 2011, the...

-The Hindu Former Union Health Secretary says the infection has come mainly from those middle-class people who have been abroad and come back to India K. Sujatha Rao served as Union Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the Indian government, until 2010, where she was involved in the process for a national policy for use of antibiotics, introducing vaccines in public health, and the first-ever national programme for non-communicable diseases....