The
globe is witnessing a ‘‘once-in-a-century pandemic’’, i.e novel coronavirus or
COVID-19. We are living in a decade of COVID 19, a decade which will never be
forgotten in the coming years. The current numbers of people affected by this
virus is approx 8 million, the casualties are 4 lac and the death toll is
rising at an exponential rate. This pandemic has created a situation that we
never dreamt of. Casualties in such a huge amount brings a lot of
responsibilities on the shoulders of people working in the fields of science,
research and medicine. Medical and research fraternity all around the globe is
continuously working for the effective development of the COVID vaccine but it
is yet to be discovered. The government has made several plans, implemented
lockdown, 3 times and has even asked for maintaining social distancing[1].
The main motive behind implementing a countrywide lockdown was to somehow
control the spread of this contagious disease but, there is no inkling which
can give us a hope that the spread can be controlled! Medical staff all over
the world lying on the frontline are putting their lives at risk every single
day and are under constraint to work overtime while striving to save those
affected with the virus. This deadly virus has drastically changed the meaning
of what life meant to us, what the healthcare system, the doctors, nurses and
the medical staff meant to us. The police at the same place are striving with
their health on duty and off-duty too; lockdown brings a lump of responsibility
on their shoulders for effective implementation of govt. orders. During this
pandemic, several corona warriors have sacrificed their lives for their
country.
Talking
about how this lockdown has affected the marginalized group is way beyond our
thinking. This lockdown has intersected with their existing vulnerabilities[2].
In a diverse country like India, we have a wide range of population falling
under the ambit of marginalized or vulnerable. People who belong to the
category of SCs, STs, women in tribal areas, disabled class, migrant groups and
aged people fall under this category. They are excluded from the society based
on their economic, social, and political status. Many people are residing in
slums, where families survive in small rooms and share public toilets,
maintaining social distancing is almost impossible to execute. They generally
earn their livelihood by working in sanitation contracts, as a sweeper, or work
in a hospital in disposing medical waste. This brings with itself a huge risk
of getting infected by the prevailing virus. Since they are marginalised, it
becomes impossible for them to avail proper medical facilities. We all know
about the sky touching fees in private hospitals, they are being exploited
based on their income, they are denied access to treatment just because they
can't afford the treatment offered by private hospitals, the only options that
they are left with is to head towards government-aided hospitals. But, the
conditions of these government hospitals are way worse than we can imagine, all
the beds are already occupied by the symptomatic corona patients making it very
difficult to get admitted for treatment. This excruciating condition of
hospitals raises several questions on India's healthcare facilities. This has
caused several risks for those women who are pregnant and are on the verge of
delivery because most of the hospitals have either become COVID hotspot or have
issues related to adequate transport facilities. India already stands in second
place when it comes to maternal mortality death, the number of maternal
mortality in tribal areas of Rajasthan is way more than death in the state as a
whole. In rural tribal areas, women are widely affected with malnutrition, they
face unequal access to health services, lack of sanitation, hygienic
accommodation, safe drinking water they all contribute to their risk of getting
affected more frequently.
We
all know that the spread of the coronavirus has started to gain mind-boggling
rise after the event of Tablighi jamaat at Hazrat Nizamuddin[3].
It was after this illegal gathering, the corona gained its pace in destroying humanity.
The motive of this article is not to hurt anyone's religious sentiments but, it
is acclaimed by several activists and news experts that this event acted as a
vector in the spread of corona. The event further created several myths about
the Muslim community, which resulted in a change of behaviour of people towards
this community. The result that came was that wherever they used to go, local
clinics and medicos started denying them with the basic health treatment,
giving the reason that they may have attended the religious gathering at
Nizamuddin.
In
the current situation, the government must ensure that marginalized people
living in slums are provided with adequate healthcare facilities. The biases in
providing healthcare to those who are marginalized must be removed. They must
be provided with the basic amenities for their survival. In this time of
hardship, we all have to stand together to fight against this pandemic. In the
end, I would like to conclude by stating a quote of Roy.T.Bennett –‘‘challenges
and adversity are meant to help you know who you are. Storms hit your weakness,
but unlock your true strength’’
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