9 may ,2023
With COVID-19 ‘over’, applying the lessons learnt (PG 6)(GS 2)
9 may ,2023
•Approximately 1,192 days since January 30, 2020, when COVID19 was announced as a ‘public health emergency of international concern’, the World Health Organization, on May 5, 2023, declared that COVID19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. In simpler terms, COVID19 has acquired the status of other endemic diseases. India, arguably, reached the COVID19 endemic stage a year ago. Even so, there have been ‘kneejerk’ and unscientific responses to spikes in COVID19 cases in India, the most recent example being the response in MarchApril 2023, when there was an uptick in viral flu and SARSCoV2 cases, which led to the closure of schools in some Indian cities and States. In instances where schools were not closed, their managements made mask wearing a mandatory condition for children to attend classes. This, in some instances, happened without a formal government directive, indicating implicit endorsement.