Is India witnessing a sudden new spike in coronavirus cases and if so, what can we do to counter it? Dr Prannoy Roy's special Townhall with Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh, Pinarayi Vijayan, N Biren Singh, Pramod Sawant and Jairam Thakur. Also on the show, Eric Topol from Scripps Research Translational Institute, Dr Devi Sridhar from University of Edinburgh, and Nobel prize winner in Economics, Professor Alvin Roth.
Highlights of Dr Prannoy Roy's Townhall On Coronavirus:Dr Roy -
Estimated influx of workers in Bihar: 10 Lakhs
People in quarantine: 7.5 Lakh
Daily 1 lakh people are coming to Bihar.
Incoming travellers have high percentage of coronavirus positive cases.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan -
We can't let our guard down till the time there is a single patient
Have to live with the virus
There's concern about people who are coming back to the state
We have sufficient institutional quarantine facilities
Food is being provided through community kitchens
Have to tide over the economic crisis. Roughly estimated, there's a loss of Rs 80,000 crore to the state due to the lockdown
6,900 ICUs, 1,500 ventilators available in the state if required
We are giving assistance to the MSMEs, IT, Industries
Giving relief through pensions, food kits
Kerala is the state with the lowest infection rate and highest recovery rate
We strictly adhered to the guidelines by the centre
We made sure that politics shouldn't come in the way of fighting the virus
We issued a package of Rs 20,000 crore to mitigate the crisis
Kerala is looking at the Rs 20 lakh crore package with a positive attitude
We feel that the focus should have been to put money in the hands of the people
We consider ourselves servants of the people.
Kerala, the first state to control the virus, has seen a sudden spike because of the travellers.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh -
They (migrants) are mainly coming from Nanded (Maharashtra)
Some came from Kota (around 150)
20,000 will be coming to Punjab in the next few weeks
Every person returning will be put in quarantine
Those asymptomatic will be under home quarantine
We have enough stocks of ventilators and masks
Have hospitals, beds, doctors; prepared for the worst
We can't take a risk the way things are going globally
Things look good for us at the moment
In Punjab, we have total 13.5 lakh labourers
3.5 lakh people have gone back to their states
Many are now opting to stay back as industries are opening again
NGOs have distributed 3 crore food packets in the state
Everyone is putting their best efforts to fight the pandemic. It has been a combined effort.
Punjab is currently India's Number 1 state as far as controlling the virus is concerned.
Punjab and Kerala have the best rates of recovery.
Eric Topol -
The virus hasn't gone anywhere and people may still get infected
There aren't proper guidelines
Everyone all over the world wants to reopen, but there have to be proper guidelines.
Pramod Sawant -
Not a single case in Goa (in the second spike) has been from within the state. All the cases have come from outside
Only two of the 40 people were asymptomatic
We are testing everyone regardless of the mode of transport they are taking for the travel
We will declare SOPs on tourism after May 31 as we are controlling coronavirus at the moment.
After reporting no cases for weeks, Goa now faces a sudden spike of COVID-19 patients.
Jairam Thakur, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister -
We have 6 medical colleges including AIIMS
We have trained our doctors well
Our doctors are performing well.
Himachal had the coronavirus spread under control. Then it suffered a spike from May 7.
RO rate is the key measurement of the spread of infections.
N Biren Singh -
We started screening as soon as in January. We had shut the borders
People of our state are very cooperative and disciplined
We are maintaining social distancing
147 quarantine centres are there in the state
Many people are coming back in the state now
We are worried that a huge number of people will come back to the state, but they are from Red Zone areas, like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi
Planning to bring back people via train
We have already allowed MSMEs, agriculture and horticulture work
We are keeping the lockdown in market areas, but in the hills, we are relaxing.
There has been a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in Manipur.
Assam was coming under control, but witnessed a spike in the last 10 days.
Chhattisgarh has seen a spike in the last five days.
Gujarat, one of the worst coronavirus-hit states, is witnessing a downward trend now.
Jammu and Kashmir has started showing some improvements.
Alvin E Roth -
The economy will recover
Economic recovery will be long and uneven
In the long term, we shouldn't be too worried about it
Life will be different after this pandemic.
Dr Devi Sridhar -When I come from a public place, could my clothes and shoes carry virus? Yes. May be leave your shoes outside, quickly change and wash your clothes. The virus can be transmitted through clothes and shoes.
Is touching a door knob dangerous? Yes. Best to wear gloves, or use disinfectant.
What do I do with shopping bags? Use soap and water, throw shopping bags after using.
What do I do if I get to know that I came in touch with someone infected with virus? Isolate yourself, stay away from your family members.
Do the phones get infected as we leave them on tables? Yes, wipe your phone. Washing your phone ones or twice a day should be sufficient.
Is there anything that could be done to protect your eyes? Wearing glasses might be helpful.
What about ACs? No good answer available, not sure if the virus gets transferred through aerosols.
Can anyone go to the hairdressers and barbers? You have to be very careful. Make sure they have a mask and you have a mask.
What do I do if an immediate neighbour gets infected from the virus? Depends on what you have shared with them - entrances, mailboxes etc. Somebody living at a distance, it is unlikely.
Can it get transferred through currency notes? Yes, wash your hands after handling currency.
Does the virus have a life cycle? It can stay on the surface of a phone for a few days but can go away in a day from outside areas like a bench.
There is no improvement in Karnataka's coronavirus situation.
There has been a sudden spike in Rajasthan's coronavirus curve.
Uttar Pradesh has suffered a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in the last four days.
