When Lockdown is a Luxury You Can't Afford

 The current Covid hotspot is the world's second most populous nation, Narendra Modi's India.

As the pandemic, and especially the double-mutation Indian variant, sweep through India's major cities, other countries fear it will spread to trigger a new wave of infections in other lands. It's why Canada and the United States have blocked air travel with the sub-continent.

In March, 2020, Modi imposed a major lockdown on the country, the "most draconian in the world," and it worked. India became a poster boy for how to battle Covid-19. So, why not repeat what worked so well last year?

Fareed Zakaria says the problem now is that another lockdown on India is no longer an option. "India is a poor country. It does not have money for Covid relief. ...At this point not only would a lockdown not be adhered to. The situation is so out of control it's not clear you would be able to manage one, particularly in the slums of Mumbai or the slums of Calcutta [where] you have population densities that are 30 to 50 times higher than that of Western cities. Telling people who live 15 to 20 people in two rooms to stay indoors is not going to stop the spread."

Out of control. Out of options.

Comments

  1. TrailblazerMay 4, 2021 at 4:56 PM

    India suffers the worst of Neo liberalism but we should not lose sight of our home grown Canadian Modi's in Alberta and Ontario.
    That we continue to keep mute of our Canadian failures be it Provincial or Federal other than politically motivated comment from Canada's over powerfully leaning right wing media , we are doomed to repeat the lunacy.
    Yet we strive for democratic government to solve our issues!
    The same democracy that gave us Jason Kenny and Rob Ford.
    India's lack of options is no less worse than Canada's it's just on a bigger scale.

    TB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibMay 6, 2021 at 9:09 AM

      I understand your cynicism, TB, but we have to live in hope. Perhaps harder times will coax better quality leadership to come forward. If it doesn't, we may be screwed.

      Delete
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