Janata Curfew
The Prime Minister had called for a Janata Curfew to be observed on the 22nd of March throughout the nation in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19.
About Janata Curfew
The curfew is to be observed by the people for the people of India. It will span from 7 AM to 9 PM on 22nd of March. During this period, all persons who aren’t engaged in essential and emergency services were urged to stay indoors. The PM also urged people to show their support and appreciation to frontline workers by clapping and ringing bells at 5 PM.
Mitigation
The COVID Response Team from Imperial College had suggested 2 strategies to tackle the virus’ spread. The first is mitigation- to slow the spread of the virus, reduce the peak healthcare demand and protect the most vulnerable section of the population.
Suppression
Suppression is the other fundamental strategy that was suggested. It is aimed at reversing the epidemic progression by lowering the number of cases and maintaining at that level. It is considered as the ‘preferred policy option’. This is because mitigation still has a high cost in terms of the number of potential fatalities and burden on the health system.
