In Focus by The Hindu

In the 21st episode of our daily COVID-19 updates, The Hindu's political editor Nistula Hebbar talks to us about some reporting that suggests that the lockdown may ease up in rural areas as the government keeps an eye on the supply of food grains in the country while urban areas are likely to remain shut. Deputy Science Editor Jacob Koshy also joins in to give us the latest from the Health Ministry briefings.

(Recorded on April 10, 2020)

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While questions over the possible extension of the lockdown loom large, there are several points to ponder over about the strategy to contain the spread of COVID-19 going forward. In this episode we get an in-depth analysis on ‘hotspot’ cluster containment, the types of testing we need to be doing to gain more data about community spread and some sound advice about the types of masks we should be using and when.

“If you’re going out in the public domain, wearing a mask or some piece of cloth is a good idea. How do you know if a cloth mask is good enough or not? If you hold it out to the light you should not be able to see the light coming through. If the cloth is too thin it really can’t help you. Second, if it becomes wet or moist, take it off and put on another one. If you don’t have a replacement you are better off without any mask than having a wet mask.”

Interview by Zubeda Hamid, Reporter, The Hindu. 

Recorded on April 9, 2020

Guest: Dr. Subramanian Swaminathan, Senior Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Gleneagles Global Hospital, Chennai and Bangalore

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There have been instances of coronavirus in patients who had no established contact with someone who had picked up the disease from abroad — from as early as March 22, according to a research study in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, authored by several ICMR scientists — including its head Balram Bhargava — and made public late on April 10. Notably, the national lockdown was announced two days after this evidence came to light. We discuss the report in this episode as well as an interesting data point about gender imbalance in COVID-19 cases in India.

Joining us is Deputy Science Editor Jacob Koshy.

(Recorded on April 9, 2020)

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While sections of our news media have been dominated by reporting on the Tablighi Jamaat convention and how it has turned into a major nodal point for spreading infections across the country it’s worth noting that this is not the first ‘super spreader’ event traceable to a religious group.

In this episode we look at the Shincheonji church incident in South Korea, how it was reported and how numbers relating to it were shared in the public domain. We also explore other lessons that India can take from South Korea’s handling of the pandemic so far.

Interview by G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Guest: Rishikesh Ramachandran, former journalist and Seoul-based marketing consultant.

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In collaboration with The Hindu’s data team, this episode comes to you on the cusp of an impending decision on extending the 21-day lockdown period in order to battle the spread of COVID-19. We discuss two data points in the context of a possible extension in the lockdown period — the effect that the lockdown has had thus far on unemployment rates and the State-wise tracker for confirmed cases, deaths and testing rates that provide a real-time view of where each State stands as the stipulated end of the lockdown period draws closer. We also discuss an interesting data point about Japan that provides some context about where India is at the moment.

Guest: Srinivasan Ramani, Deputy National Editor, The Hindu.

(Recorded on April 8, 2020)

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After 76 days, the lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus originated, was lifted on April 8. As many parts of China now emerge out of various stages of shutdown, residents describe a ‘new normal’ in terms of how cities function and how they go about their day-to-day lives. Could China’s experience shed some light on how post-lockdown life might pan out in India?

Interview by Ananth Krishnan

Guests: Danny Geevarghese is an independent Indian journalist who has been living in Beijing since 2011; Hu Jianlong is a Chinese entrepreneur and writer who works in the start-up space in Beijing.

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In the 18th episode of our coverage of developments on the COVID-19 front, we discuss the drug hydroxychloroquine after Indian lifted a ban on its export on Tuesday. There are questions about whether this is in response to U.S. president Donald Trump threatening retaliatory action given that the U.S. had placed an order some time before the ban on exports was put in place.

India is the world's largest producer of hydroxychloroquine, a drug used in the treatment of malaria which many countries now believe can be repurposed for treating COVID-19 patients. However, despite the global race for the drug, has the efficacy of HCQ actually been borne out by testing?

We also discuss the possible extension of the 21-day lockdown.

Joining us as usual are National Editor Suhasini Haidar and Deputy Science Editor Jacob Koshy.

(Recorded on April 7, 2020)

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With her extensive experience in government, working in the public health space, former Union Health Secretary K. Sujatha Rao is at the very heart of the debate on the global Coronavirus pandemic. In this episode of the “In Focus” podcast she discusses with Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor at The Hindu, the critical issue of system preparedness in India, in particular the importance of rapidly building up critical health infrastructure during the lockdown, of extensive testing to slow transmission, and of future-proofing the country’s pandemic preparedness strategy.

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In the 17th episode discussing daily developments on the COVID-19 front, we go into topics ranging from the ban on export of the drug hydroxychloroquine, which the government may be reconsidering given that several countries have placed orders to use the drug both as treatment and as a prophylactic.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday also sought suggestions on a calibrated exit strategy from the lockdown while the Health Ministry released some interesting statistics on the gender break-up of cases and the age break-up of fatalities from COVID-19. Finally, we discuss some new concepts for testing centres that States and private enterprises are introducing.

Joining us as usual are National Editor Suhasini Haidar and Deputy Science Editor Jacob Koshy.

(Recorded on April 6, 2020)

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In this 16th episode of our coverage of COVID-19–related developments, we try and cover a flurry of updates in a somewhat rapid fire way. Once again, India reported its highest single-day spike in cases on Saturday, as the Indian Council for Medical Research released new guidelines on antibody-testing and the Health Ministry seems to largely be prescribing the use of ‘homemade face protectors’.

We also discuss Air India flights being chartered to repatriate foreign citizens from India but not being able to bring back Indian citizens, and the various concerns over the power grid’s capacity to deal with Prime Minister Modi’s nine-minute challenge on Sunday.

(Recorded on April 4, 2020)

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