Indian economy will come to a standstill, if lockdown continues

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April 8, 2020

The battle to coronavirus pandemic is likely to result in huge job losses, pay cuts and freeze on hiring over the next few quarters, thereby giving blues to India’s already distressed employment story. The casual laborer has lost their income. The service industry like transports, hospitality, maintenance have been shut totally. Manufacturing industries have shut down their operations. Agriculturists are not able to market their produce. Government’s revenue has fallen deep. So, the economy is in a frozen stage. Students are not able to prepare themselves for their future careers. The cost of initiating all the above activities after the lock down period is high and it depends on how well the virus is contained and the people’s preparedness to resume their work. Migrant laborer will find relocation very costly and risky. People would be scared to re-engage them when they return from their home to work. This is biggest matter of concern.

China where unemployment rate in January was 5% and then immediately climbed up to more than 6% in February due to their lockdown of almost 2 months. While in similar context India is in far better position presently where so far people are able to bare this locking period. Arguably in Metropolitans situations are pitiful where larger areas are flooded by labors and workers and drivers which might find this lockdown as biggest threat to their daily expenditures. Indian economy greatly falls down, small businesses collapsed, Indian tourism effected, Govt exams and interviews are delayed. India is already going through a 21-day lockdown period and people are already not cooperating with the government. Small companies finding it difficult to pay salaries for people sitting at home. also, the industrialists / manufacturing units / productions / import / export is finding it difficult to breath because if there is no business. There is no resource and everything has stand still. Extension of lockdown would be required if Coronavirus pandemic is out of control. But this extension will break the moral of people, they will prefer to risk their life over survival. Poorer people, daily wages labor, small business persons, would face major problems. Government has to gear up to tackle the above problem. Because it may give rise to situation robbing shops. People will bash each other for money, the crime rate will go up. Even before the lockdown, which began on March 25, the country’s economy suffered from a prolonged period of slowing growth. For the financial year 2019-20, official estimates peg the annual expansion rate of GDP at 5 per cent – the slowest since the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

It is a harsh reality but the economic impact of Coronavirus would claim more lives compared to medical/healthcare reasons of coronavirus. The Indian stock market has lost more than 35% of its value over the last 30 days. There has been a constant outflow of funds outside of India, which does not auger well, both in short and long-term. Several departments within the Ministry of Finance (MoF), India- the epicenter of the Indian Economy financial decision making- has been shut down. This impacts policy planning. There have been a deluge of reports, which say that we have entered/will enter recession soon.

If India too witnesses several cases of community transmission of Coronavirus, our Economy would have severe repercussions. In the short-term, there will be extensive lockdown periods and a significant loss of life. In a country like India, where the population density is extremely high, the virus is likely to grow exponentially, if not controlled in the initial stages. One must understand that in India a large part of our Corporate Sector has extensive debts and Banks have NPAs. Short-term economic damage can result in debt crisis, which can have far reaching long-term implications for our economy. Thereafter, a general sense of instability would persist for several years to come. Unlike the 2008 financial crisis, this is not a systemic failure of Governance/Financial Institutes. In short: The picture is not rosy, but at the same time, unnecessary fear mongering is not helpful. The problem is grave only if the situation escalates. Nations are built by the collective conscience of people. Now is the time to stand up and do your part.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

About 400 million workers in India may sink into poverty: UN report

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Afternoon Voice

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April 8, 2020

Coronavirus, COVID-19, Poverty, UN, India, State, 400 million, United Nations, Coronavirus Crisis, Lockdown — The daughter of a migrant worker sleeps on a highway as they failed to get a bus to return to their village, during a 21-day nationwide lockdown / REUTERS

About 400 million people working in the informal economy in India are at risk of falling deeper into poverty due to the coronavirus crisis which is having “catastrophic consequences”, and is expected to wipe out 195 million full-time jobs or 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year, the UN’s labour body has warned.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) in its report titled ‘ILO Monitor 2nd edition: COVID-19 and the world of work’, describes coronavirus pandemic as “the worst global crisis since World War II”.

“Workers and businesses are facing catastrophe, in both developed and developing economies. We have to move fast, decisively, and together. The right, urgent, measures, could make the difference between survival and collapse,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said on Tuesday.

Worldwide, two billion people work in the informal sector (mostly in emerging and developing economies) and are particularly at risk, the report said, adding that the COVID-19 crisis is already affecting tens of millions of informal workers.

“In India, Nigeria and Brazil, the number of workers in the informal economy affected by the lockdown and other containment measures is substantial,” ILO said.

“In India, with a share of almost 90 per cent of people working in the informal economy, about 400 million workers in the informal economy are at risk of falling deeper into poverty during the crisis. Current lockdown measures in India, which are at the high end of the University of Oxford’s COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index, have impacted these workers significantly, forcing many of them to return to rural areas,” it said.

The report said the disruption to the world’s economies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to wipe out 6.7 per cent of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year the equivalent of 195 million jobs worldwide.

“This is the greatest test for international cooperation in more than 75 years. If one country fails, then we all fail. We must find solutions that help all segments of our global society, particularly those that are most vulnerable or least able to help themselves,” said Ryder.

“The choices we make today will directly affect the way this crisis unfolds and so the lives of billions of people. With the right measures we can limit its impact and the scars it leaves. We must aim to build back better so that our new systems are safer, fairer and more sustainable than those that allowed this crisis to happen,” he said.

Large reductions are foreseen in the Arab States (8.1 per cent, equivalent to 5 million full-time workers), Europe (7.8 per cent, or 12 million full-time workers) and Asia and the Pacific (7.2 per cent, 125 million full-time workers), it said.

Huge losses are expected across different income groups but especially in upper-middle income countries (7.0 per cent, 100 million full-time workers), far exceeding the effects of the 2008-9 financial crisis, the report warned.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic effect on working hours and earnings, globally,” it said.

The agency said sectors most at risk include accommodation and food services, manufacturing, retail, and business and administrative activities.

The eventual increase in global unemployment during 2020 will depend substantially on future developments and policy measures. There is a high risk that the end-of-year figure will be significantly higher than the initial ILO projection of 25 million, it said.

More than four out of five people (81 per cent) in the global workforce of 3.3 billion are currently affected by full or partial workplace closures, it said.

According to the report, 1.25 billion workers are employed in the sectors identified as being at high risk of “drastic and devastating” increases in layoffs and reductions in wages and working hours. Many are in low-paid, low-skilled jobs, where a sudden loss of income is devastating.

Looked at regionally, the proportion of workers in these “at risk” sectors varies from 43 per cent in the Americas to 26 per cent in Africa.

Some regions, particularly Africa, have higher levels of informality, which combined with a lack of social protection, high population density and weak capacity, pose severe health and economic challenges for governments, the report cautions.

Large-scale, integrated, policy measures were needed, focusing on four pillars: supporting enterprises, employment and incomes; stimulating the economy and jobs; protecting workers in the workplace; and, using social dialogue between government, workers and employers to find solutions, the study says.

Also Read:

Lockdown: People are not scared of Life to lose but livelihood

Maharashtra reports 60 new cases of COVID-19; tally jumps to 1,078

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Afternoon Voice

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April 8, 2020

Barricade, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Maharashtra Cases, Positive, Coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID19, Mumbai Police — Photo: Akshay Redij / Afternoon Voice

Sixty new coronavirus cases were reported in Maharashtra on Wednesday, taking the toll number of such cases in the state to 1,078, a health official said.

Among the new cases, 44 have been found in Mumbai, nine in Pune, four in Nagpur, and one each in Ahmednagar, Akola and Buldhana, he said.

We received reports of 60 people testing positive for coronavirus today. The Maharashtra tally is now 1,078, said the official.

The state has so far reported 64 deaths due to the viral disease.

COVID-19: All is not well in Maharashtra

By

Vaidehi Taman

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April 7, 2020

As the time is passing the cases of COVID-19 coming to surface. 10 residents of Andheri, all from one family, have tested positive for Coronavirus and it is said that the family had attended a wedding in Surat one month ago, where they might have caught the infection. Imagine, at the same time there was stadium inauguration in Gujarat where lakhs of people were attendees. That is the reason Gujarat and Maharashtra are at high risk. Now the irony is that during such challenging time the hospitals are also partially shutting down. Security personal are at risk. Over 150 employees of Jaslok in quarantine, swabs of 270 Wockhardt staff members sent for testing. Two of Mumbai’s biggest private hospitals – Mumbai Central’s Wockhardt and Jaslok on Pedder Road – nearly shut down on Monday with a large number of their employees testing positive for coronavirus. A staggering 52 employees of Wockhardt have now tested positive, a 100 per cent increase over Sunday’s 26. Thirty of them are being treated at Seven Hills Hospital, the civic-run COVID-19 special facility. Jaslok has reported 15 positive cases, two of them patients. Over 150 employees of Jaslok are now in quarantine, crippling the multi-speciality hospital’s operations. Both hospitals have ceased new admissions and only those patients who cannot be discharged or transferred are now occupying beds in wards and special rooms.

The BMC has declared the two hospitals as “containment zones” with restrictions imposed on entry and exit. Both hospitals have ceased new admissions and only those patients who cannot be discharged or transferred are now occupying beds in wards and special rooms. The BMC has declared the two hospitals as “containment zones” with restrictions imposed on entry and exit. Wockhardt identified a 70-year-old patient, who was admitted to the hospital on March 17 for a cardiac emergency, as the index case – the source of the infection. On March 26, the patient developed cough and was tested for COVID-19, which turned out positive. The hospital staff were thus unknowingly exposed to the infection. Jaslok too said the spread of infection started with a patient who was admitted for a different illness. The patient, had no travel history and tested positive few days back and the hospital “sensed the need to make diligent checks. In continuation to the precautionary measure, the hospital has suspended its OPD services and elective admissions temporarily. The hospital has tested over a thousand staff members and all have tested negative. Nurses who tested positive have been shifted from their residential quarters in Vile Parle to the hospital. Police have been posted outside both the hospitals to ensure that the containment zone norms are followed. With 67 cases, the two hospitals now have more cases than many of the city’s wards. Only the G-South ward has more cases than the two hospitals put together at 68.

Meanwhile, Matoshree too is in scare, after a 45-year-old tea vendor who operated from a locality in the vicinity of the residence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Bandra East tested positive for COVID-19, over 170 police and SRPF personnel, some of whom were in the CM’s security detail, were moved from the area as a precautionary measure. The tea vendor operated close to the residence of Union minister Ramdas Athavale and several security personnel of both Mumbai Police and SRPF, some in the security detail of the chief minister, would visit the stall for tea. Matoshree has emerged as the administrative seat of Maharashtra over the past few months as Thackeray prefers to conduct the majority of his business from his residence. A team from BMC’s health department reached Kalanagar in the evening and sanitised the whole area. According to officials, about 170 personnel from police and SRPF have been quarantine in Uttar Bhartiya Sangh building in Bandra East. Police officials claimed the vendor’s shop had been shut since March 24 and they are on the lookout for people who could have been in contact with the vendor between March 20-24.Officials claimed the BMC has started taking swab samples of some of the personnel who were part of Thackeray’s security detail and had come in contact with the tea stall owner. Around 150 personnel are guarding the chief minister and his family during the day time, while around 120 are guarding him in the night hours.

Meanwhile, not only Matoshree but Uddhav Thackeray, who became the Chief Minister of the state without being a member of either house of the state legislature, now has a new problem knocking on his door. He will have to get elected to either house before May 27 with the Election Commission postponing the election for the nine seats of the legislative council, whose term ends on April 24. Containment of the virus in Maharashtra is directly related to the political stability of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. If Thackeray fails to get elected as a legislator (which currently seems unlikely), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may use all its power to rule the state again. After the fall of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, the opposition has claimed that next change of government will be in Maharashtra. As all the nine seats of the legislative council are elected by the members of legislative assembly, Thackeray was certain of being elected as the MVA has majority in the assembly. He can again stake claim to form the government or some other leader can lead the government for time being till Thackeray gets elected as a legislator. Some political experts have suggested the route of getting nominated to the legislative council through the governor quota. There are two vacancies due to the resignation of two members whose term was scheduled to expire on June 6. It is most unlikely that the governor will approve the nomination of Thackeray for just one and half month. Earlier, in December 2019 too, he didn’t accept such a recommendation of appointment of two leaders from t at the lockdown will be lifted immediately after April 15, 2020.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Mumbai Police registers FIR against 150 Tablighi event attendees for negligence

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Afternoon Voice

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April 7, 2020

Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against 150 people who attended the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin in New Delhi last month for alleged negligent act during the coronavirus outbreak, an official said on Tuesday.

The offence was registered on a complant lodged by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) at the Azad Maidan Police Station, he said.

The Tablighi Jamaat’s congregation in Delhi has emerged as one of the major COVID-19 hotspots in the country.

The Mumbai Police on Monday requested the Tablighi Jamaat members to approach the BMC and inform it about their travel details or face action.

“Its our request and your responsibility to report your travel details on 1916, the @mybmc helpline, if you attended Tablighi Markaz at Nizamuddin, New Delhi. Those failing to cooperate will face strict action under IPC, DM (Disaster Management) Act & Epidemic Act,” the Mumbai Police tweeted.

Later, the BMC lodged a police complaint following which a case was registered against 150 people under Indian Penal Code Sections 269 (whoever willfully or negligently does any act which is likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) and 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule) and other relevant provisions, the official said.

So far, more than 400 COVID-19 cases and about 15 deaths in the country have been found to be linked to the religious congregation held at the Nizamuddin headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat last month.

At least 9,000 people participated in the religious congregation in Nizamuddin last month, after which many of the attendees travelled to various parts of the country.

#COVID-19: SC says ‘not an expert body’ on health, management issues of migrant workers

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Afternoon Voice

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April 7, 2020

The Supreme Court Tuesday said it was not an “expert” body on dealing with health and management issues of migrant workers arising from the 21-day nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic and would rather ask the government to set up helpline for the needy.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices S K Kaul and Deepak Gupta, through video conferencing, was hearing the plea filed by two civil rights activists seeking enforcement of fundamental right to life for migrant workers and payment of wages to them as they have been left without work or food following the lockdown.

The bench, which had earlier issued notice to the Centre on the PIL, took note of the response of the government that it was monitoring the situation and has set up helpline number for helping the poor workers.

“We do not plan to supplant the wisdom of the government with our wisdom. We are not experts in health or management and will ask the government to create a helpline for complaints,” the bench said while fixing the PIL for further hearing on April 13.

The bench also said it cannot take a “better policy decision” at this stage and moreover, it also does not want to interfere with the policy decisions for next ten-fifteen days.

At the outset, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for activists Mander and Anjali Bhardwaj, said that more than 4 lakh migrant workers were living in shelter homes and this made mockery of distancing which is necessary to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

“If they are kept in shelter homes and then even if one person has Coronavirus, they all get it. They should be allowed to go back to their own homes. Families need money for survival because they are dependent on the wages,” Bhushan said.

He said that more than 40 per cent such workers did not try to migrate and are living in their own homes in the cities and they do not have money to buy food.

The bench said that it has been told that such workers are being provided with meals in shelter homes and asked as to why they needed money for buying food.

They are not all in shelter homes. They do not just need food in the shelter homes and they needed money to send to their families back home, the lawyer said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre said that the government was “on top of the situation” and it was looking into complaints recieved. The call centre has been set up. The Home Ministry and the Minister have been monitoring the helpline, the law officer said.

The bench, during the hearing, said the courts cannot monitor the complaints that the foods in ome shelter homes are not edible

The PIL has sought enforcement of fundamental right to life for migrant workers and payment of wages to them as they have been left without work or food following the 21-day nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic.

The plea said that fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution needs to be enforced for migrant workers who are severely affected by the lockdown ordered by the government on March 24.

The order for which no prior intimation was given, created a panic across the country and led to the instantaneous loss of jobs and wages of millions of migrant workers employed in establishments across India or self-employed as street vendors, rickshaw pullers, domestic house helps, petty job workers, etc. This led to the large-scale exodus of these migrant workers to their home towns, the plea said.

The petition, filed through Bhushan, said that the sudden announcement of lockdown led to migrant workers crowding in large numbers of many thousands at bus terminals, railway stations and inter-state borders to find their way home, potentially exposing them to the virus and escalating the risk of its spread.

Due to the lockdown the workers cannot travel to their place of work and many of these establishments are small businesses that have been forced to shut down and hence employers will not be able to pay these wages. Besides majority of these migrant workers are self-employed.

“The order ignores the harsh realities that workers have to persistently face in cities that is further compounded when a lockdown order deprives them of their job, daily wages and hence means of survival, thus violating their Article 21 rights, the plea said.

The lockdown has precipitated an unprecedented humanitarian crisis especially among the class of migrant workers and it is the central and state governments that have to take adequate measures in accordance with National and State plans drawn out under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, under the guidance of the advisory committees they are mandated to constitute, to deal with this epidemic, it said.

The petition sought direction to the central and state governments to jointly and severally ensure payments of wages/ minimum wages to all the migrant workers within a week, whether employed by other establishments, contractors or self-employed, as they are unable to work and earn wages, during the period of the lockdown.

It also sought direction to them to immediately activate National and State Advisory Committees of experts in the field of disaster management and public health.

Besides, it sought direction to them for preparing national and state disaster management plans for dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic, taking into account all relevant aspects, mitigation measure, their possible costs and consequences as required under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Wockhardt Hospital Mumbai cordoned off as 26 nurses, 3 doctors test COVID-19 +ve

By

Afternoon Voice

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April 7, 2020

Mumbai, one of the worst hit metro cities by coronavirus outbreak in India, has reported 458 of Maharashtra’s 745 cases. The state, which has the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the country, has recorded 45 deaths so far linked to COVID-19 and 30 of these deaths have been registered from Mumbai. A hospital in Mumbai – one of the COVID-19 hotspots in India listed by the government – has been temporarily shut and declared a containment zone after three doctors and 26 nurses tested positive for the highly contagious novel coronavirus. A probe has also been ordered to investigate the unprecedented spike in the number of cases and rapid spread of COVID-19 at the Wockhardt Hospital, officials said.

Nobody will be allowed to enter or exit the building till all the patients admitted at the hospital test negative twice. More than 270 patients and nurses are being tested. The outpatient department and emergency services have been suspended; hospital canteen will provide food to the patients and nurses.

In a statement, Wockhardt Hospital said, “The hospital adheres to the highest global standards of infection and quality control. The source of the infection is identified as a 70-year-old patient who was admitted to the hospital on March 17 for a cardiac emergency. The patient was asymptomatic (showed no symptoms of COVID19).”

“On March 26, the patient developed cough, and was tested for COVID19, which turned out positive. The hospital staff were unknowingly exposed to the infection in the time period. We are informing the healthcare sector at large not to be misled by asymptomatic patients,” the statement added.

An aggressive containment plan was released by Union Health Ministry on Sunday for large outbreaks of COVID-19, which includes buffer zones and sealing off areas for nearly a month. The strategy is meant to contain the illness caused by a novel coronavirus, first detected in China in December. The 20-page document says the aggressive containment strategy will be scaled down only if no new cases of COVID-19 are reported for at least four weeks after the last confirmed test.

Nurses, doctors identified as COVID-19 positive are being treated: Wockhardt Hospital

By

Afternoon Voice

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April 7, 2020

The Wockhardt Hospital said that several healthcare professionals at its South Mumbai facility have tested positive for COVID-19 and they are being treated.

“Several of our healthcare professionals tested positive for COVID-19 at South Mumbai facility. The source of the infection is identified as a 70-year-old patient who was admitted on March 17 for a cardiac emergency. Later, the patient tested positive for COVID-19,” read a statement from Wockhardt Hospital.

“Our colleague nurses and the doctors identified as COVID-19 positive are presently being treated. The hospital is currently declared containment zone by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and we are closely working with the authorities,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, 23 new coronavirus positive cases were reported in Maharashtra on Tuesday.

The total number of positive cases in the state has increased to 891.

19 new coronavirus cases in Gujarat; state tally goes up to 165

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Afternoon Voice

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April 7, 2020

The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat jumped to 165 on Tuesday, with 19 more people testing positive for the viral infection in the state, an official said.

Of the new cases, 13 were reported from Ahmedabad, three from Patan, and one each from Bhavnagar, Anand and Sabarkantha, Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said.

A 37-year-old patient from Rajkot was discharged, she said, adding that total 23 people have recovered so far in the state.

The state has so far reported 12 deaths due to the disease.

India to export ant-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine on case-by-case basis: MEA

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Afternoon Voice

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April 7, 2020

India has decided to export anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to several countries including those in the neighbourhood on a case-by-case basis in sync with its commitment to the international community to fight the coronavirus pandemic, officials said on Tuesday.

Hydroxychloroquine is an old and inexpensive drug used to treat malaria.

Last month, India banned export of hydroxychloroquine in the midst of views that the drug could be used as potential anti-viral agent to protect healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients from the infection.

President Donald Trump has warned India that the US may retaliate if it did not export hydroxychloroquine despite his personal request, saying he would be surprised if New Delhi did not relent as it has good relations with Washington.

“India has always maintained that the international community must display strong solidarity and cooperation. This approach also guided our evacuation of nationals of other countries,” Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said.

“In view of the humanitarian aspects of the pandemic, it has been decided that India would licence paracetamol and HCQ (hydroxychloroquine) in appropriate quantities to all our neighbouring countries who are dependent on our capabilities,” he said while responding to media queries on the issue.

India has received requests from several other countries including its immediate neighbours Sri Lanka and Nepal for supply of hydroxychloroquine.