Looks like China has learnt nothing from its mistake. Three years ago, it downplayed the perils of the approaching coronavirus and the entire world had to pay the price in the form of several Covid-19 waves, lockdowns, economic shutdowns and most importantly, loss of lives. Two years into the pandemic, China stands unaffected still hiding the intensity of the infections despite rising hospitalisations across the country.
Health experts across the world are of the view that this uptick in infections being reported in China could be the start of another Covid-19 wave that could result in millions of deaths.
While the recent surge in Covid cases in China and more so the lack of transparency on cases and deaths poses a threat to the rest of the world, which has just begun to come out of the effects of a deadly pandemic, India being a border sharing neighbour falls into the most vulnerable category due to its close proximity with China.
However, India has started to brace itself for an impending health emergency. On Tuesday, the Centre issued directions for the states to closely monitor Covid infections and increase genome sequencing of the samples.
Centre’s big meeting on Covid-19
Amid a fresh spurt in coronavirus cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is set to hold a review meeting on Wednesday to monitor India’s preparedness for any Covid emergency.
The Health Ministry also urged all states and Union territories to ramp up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of newer variants. This will facilitate the timely detection of new variants if any, and the Centre will be able to take measures in a timely manner.
Why India should consider closing borders, and travelling with China?
The fresh uptick in China cases is worrisome even after the country’s stringent ‘Zero Covid Policy’. This means that China is miserably failing to curb the infection despite all measures and it is bad news for India.
Now India not only shares a border with China but is also largely dependent on China for travel and imports. While stopping imports may not be a feasible option, it might be time for India to consider closing borders with China and suspending direct travel.
According to some estimates, 60 per cent of the population in China could experience a steep rise in corona cases during the course of the next 90 days.
China’s lack of transparency on fresh cases
While a large section of India’s population has recorded hybrid immunity against the virus, with Covid there’s never a straight answer and China’s lack of transparency on the intensity of this potential Covid wave is not helping.Another good reason for India to adopt some retraining from China is the lack of information on the recent number of cases, deaths, any new variant or if it’s a new virus altogether.
India needs answers to certain questions like if a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 is on the horizon, what is China doing to curb the spread of Covid-19 within its boundaries and prevent spillovers to other nations and more to take further steps. Until we get answers, it’s only wise to at least suspend direct travellers from China.
