BENGALURU: Countering a growing demand for a national lockdown, Dr V Ravi, noted virologist and member, Covid Expert Committee, Karnataka, said that India does not need one at this stage of the pandemic, when some states have started plateauing and some are witnessing a late surge.“A lockdown should be enforced in a state based on scientific data of cases in the past month. A national lockdown at a time when states are at varied degree of the surge is neither a solution nor is advisable,” said Dr Ravi, countering the claim of an aggressive national lockdown by top US medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci.
“The ground realities of India are very different. States like Maharashtra had peaked earlier and are now witnessing a downward spiral. They had gone into a strict lockdown much ahead of others and may lift it soon. In states like Karnataka, the surge started later. It will take some more weeks before it starts plateauing here, so the state may need to extend the lockdown to break the chain,” he said.
He added that in October last year, he had warned of a second wave in India between mid-March and May. “All scientific advice and warnings by scientists, epidemiologists and doctors were ignored by our political leaders and public. It was not real for them. There was fatigue after the first wave in September-October 2020, and nobody heeded the early warnings. We had even cautioned that the second wave of a pandemic is always far more serious than the first.,” he said.
“When Maharashtra started reporting cases, no measures were taken to control the surge. People threw all caution to the wind, and the government went ahead with election rallies and allowed religious congregations,” he said.
He added that the way forward will have many roadblocks. “Even when the surge settles down, the government will have to exercise extreme caution while allowing economic activities. People will have to compulsorily wear masks and get vaccinated. There is no other way out,” he added. Dr Ravi said the third wave is expected between October and December, and is likely to impact children more because they will still not be vaccinated.
Sudhakar: Curfew not effective; DVS for lockdown
With Karnataka registering a record number of Covid cases despite a 14-day corona curfew in place, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the ‘close down’ had not been as effective as anticipated. While questions are being raised about a possible complete lockdown in the State given the heavy caseload, Health Minister Sudhakar suggested that additional measures of restrictions should be considered. Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, however, said, “There is a need to consider it (lockdown) seriously, especially in Karnataka.”