FlippED is an ED Original style wherein two bloggers come together to share their opposing or orthogonal perspectives on an interesting subject.
Blogger Mitali’s views-
“Today, everyone is at risk, and within the larger picture, everyone is also a potential risk for others. Coronavirus spreads like a chain reaction and it only takes one infected person to put a thousand others at risk.”
If it’s public health versus the economy, the only choice is public health. You cannot put a value on human life.
You do the right thing. That’s what Pop taught us @ChrisCuomo
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 24, 2020
Effect Of Prioritising Economy
The economy is now at a standstill. But prioritizing the economy over human lives may come at a cost of the latter.
Shifting the gears of the economy may water down social and physical distances and increase exposure to the virus. Reopening the economy may seem like a better option to the people who are concerned about the recession, but for others who, perhaps, work in industries among a large number of people, know that exposure to a larger population can lead to the second wave of coronavirus.
In a densely populated country like India, the troubling ideology of preferring economy over lives may minimize, if not prevent economic depression, but may put at stake the lives of millions, which may pose a major problem for the country.
WHO On Relaxation Of Lockdown
"I continue to call for the world to come together in solidarity and national unity to confront the #COVID19 pandemic, but also to prevent the next one, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer world for everyone, everywhere"-@DrTedros
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 27, 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 4th video conference hinted at easing restrictions after 3rd May, but also warned ministers that there might be a spike in COVID-19 cases in June-July and asked them to be prepared. This hints towards the loss country would have to face if relaxation in lockdown is imposed.
"As lockdowns in Europe ease with declining numbers of new #COVID19 cases, we continue to urge countries to find, isolate, test and treat all cases and trace every contact, to ensure these declining trends continue"-@DrTedros
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 27, 2020
The World Health Organisation in their recent tweet showed concern about countries easing lockdown. The damage caused by this virus cannot be simplified in the form of models and curves. India’s struggling economy needs attention, but important economic steps should be taken keeping in mind the national cause, i.e. the preservation of all life.
Also Read: Arnab’s Attack On Sonia Gandhi Led To Deplorable Trend Of #BarDancer On Twitter
Blogger Shreshtha’s Views-
Former RBI Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan in a conversation with India Today emphasized the necessity of ensuring that the viable small and medium scale firms should be kept from closing down. So, to prevent this temporary jerk to the Indian economy, make permanent damage.
Fmr #RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan talks about the impact of #Coronavirus on the economy #Newstrack with @rahulkanwal: https://t.co/vGQ3dTcfxv pic.twitter.com/hyL7JZ74Zc
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) March 23, 2020
Already Slagging Economy
It will have to be a very calculative process to hold back the economic structure of India from falling off the cliff after the hit by the coronavirus crisis. In the financial year of 2019-20, India’s economy grew by 5% which is the slowest pace in over six years in the June quarter.
So, now after a gigantic 40-days lockdown, obviously India cannot afford to block the way of the economic stream anymore.
Situation Oriented Economic Reforms
After 20th April, the Government announced relaxations in sectors like rural, IT, fisheries, farming, cargo, etc. Yet the restrictions are intact on many industrial and commercial activities that are constantly plunging in the economic depression.
In the words of the executive chairperson of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, it is a required task to bring the economy back on track lest India could lose 30-40 million jobs by end-2020.
"To ensure that the medical crisis due to #Covid19 pandemic does not snowball into a devastating economic crisis, GoI will have to restart the economy after May 3 with adequate safeguards & surveillance."
We Now Need A Rapid Response To Economic Revival. https://t.co/5zMVM8kRr7
— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) April 29, 2020
Necessary Lifestyle Changes
As per a WHO guideline, older people are deemed more vulnerable to COVID-19. So, after the lockdown eases, only those under 50 should be allowed to go back to work to sustain the economy while enforcing all the preventive measures like social distancing, the prohibition of mass gathering, wearing of masks, regular sanitization of public places, disinfection of common surfaces, and temperature-screening in public places.
Testing should also be scaled up to include the general public.
With a 1.3 billion population, India is doing great in saving lives. It’s time that economic activities also should be given importance for the overall survival of the country.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Twitter, The Economic Times, India Today, Live Mint
Find The Blogger: @ELadki
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