Months have gone, COVID cases are rising, and the government wants us to go out and work to revive the economy. But as citizens, we remain clueless about one simple thing, and that is what am I supposed to do in case of COVID symptoms?
Here are some questions that every citizen must ask the government—both the centre and state. This is not about political parties; it is about the system.
Questions We Must Ask The Government
Firstly, what stage of the pandemic are we currently in? Have we already reached the community transmission stage? What has been the research done in the past few months, and what is the government’s strategy to fight COVID?
What have we learnt about the virus and its behaviour in the last few months? Who is most vulnerable? What is the demographic of patients who died due to COVID? What percentage of them were co-morbid? Same with the people who easily recover. We are a young nation. Can we breathe confidence amongst young people that they are most less likely to die if they get infected? Where is the data? Where is the research?
Assuming we have no way to keep us 100% safe from getting infected, we are all expected to risk ourselves to infection. In that case, what is the set protocol for any person with COVID symptoms? When to call for help? Whom to call? What parameters to check?
Is Our Healthcare System Failing?
Lockdown was supposed to be about buying time to ramp up the healthcare system. What have we achieved in the last few months? How many beds? How many ICU beds with ventilators? Can you assure us as the government that if we get infected, you will ensure we don’t die due to lack of treatment?
It is being said a lot of people recover with mild symptoms, and many remain asymptomatic. If we have limited healthcare capacity, how can we treat them at home and what if they need to be transferred to the hospital? Which hospital? Where to call for ambulance service? Are their temporary hospitals for such patients who have no one to look after or self-isolating might not be an option due to space constraint?
Since the lockdown, lot of OPDs, clinics and many hospitals have stopped functioning. COVID doesn’t mean other ailments have vanished. People with dialysis requirements, Thalassemia patients, cancer patients’ chemotherapy, childbirths, and several other surgical procedures need to continue. What is being done to set up systems so that these can operate smoothly on the side?
What is the testing strategy? Who are we testing? We have no plans to test the entire population I assume so the logic of testing, treating, tracing stuff is not working to make the nation corona free. In that case, why not just test people with symptoms for diagnosis and lower the burden on the healthcare system?
Assuming the trends in data show a significant percentage of cases are from specific cities and districts, why not have a plan to open up locations based on infection spread? What is the plan to contain the infection in hotspots to ensure the healthcare system is not overwhelmed, and people die untreated?
After healthcare, education is a very important goal. Educational institutes have been shut for months now. Opening up schools can be a disastrous move amid rising infections. What are we doing to address this? Why have you not issued any guidelines on fees to private schools? What is the plan?
There are so many more questions. What are you doing for people who have lost their jobs due to this crisis? What about the labour crisis— as you are sending back workers and expecting factories to start operations?
It is time the government comes out and addresses the questions, and as citizens, we need to ask questions to the system. Do you have a question that you think needs to be answered by the government? Let’s put the pressure on the system to act.