-The Hindu As global trade falls and supply disruptions persist, a prolonged lockdown will adversely affect food security The COVID-19 pandemic has led to global concerns on the state of agriculture and food security. On the one hand, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned of a “food crisis” if countries do not protect vulnerable people from hunger and malnourishment. On the other, farmers face a stalemate as they are unable...

-The Hindu Noting that the pandemic is seeing a “persisting and ever escalating spread” the United Nurses Association pointed out that nurses and health workers are exposed to infection. A Kerala-based 3.8 lakh-strong nurses’ association has approached the Supreme Court saying the government has not formulated a National Management Protocol for COVID-19 to address the serious concerns relating to imminent and extreme risks posed to the health and safety of medical personnel...

-The Hindu The government has an opportunity to help farmers who are battling declining demand and lower prices Social distancing and living under a lockdown appear to be the only effective ways of dealing with the pandemic. As India lacks the resources to significantly ramp up testing, imposing a lockdown was the government’s preferred option. Although there is limited evidence to suggest that this strategy may be working in containing the spread...

-IndiaSpend.com Mathura: When Usha Dasi, 72, found out about the coronavirus outbreak in the second week of March 2020, she stopped attending puja ceremonies at the Radha Raman temple, 1.5 km from her room at the Maa Sharda Ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s Vrindavan. Breaking with her routine of 15 years, she said she now prays in her room. “We have been told that taking precautions, like washing our hands frequently with soap...

-The Hindu India needs a national policy providing for free testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients in private hospitals As India enters the second week of a national lockdown imposed in response to COVID-19, it is still unclear how well prepared the healthcare system is in dealing with the pandemic. Given the resource constraints of both the Central and State governments, it is clear that government hospitals alone will not be able...