'india has Handled Covid Better Than Many Developed Nations'

The rapid spread of coronavirus and the mounting fatalities has spurred research worldwide to contain the deadly disease. India, which has breached the one million mark in cases and 25,000 in deaths, is also investing heavily in covid-19 research and exploring ways of using science and technology to fight the contagion. Ashutosh Sharma, secretary at ministry of science and technology, spoke about the covid-19 pandemic, the government’s multipronged approach to deal with the health crisis, mathematical models, the role of science and technology in the government’s ambitious “Atmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India campaign, and the way forward. Edited excerpts from an interview:

The covid-19 pandemic is evolving continuously. What is the situation in India, where the number of cases has crossed 1 million and deaths have crossed 25,000?

Covid-19, which is caused by SARS CoV-2 virus, is a multidimensional problem. Little is known about the behaviour of this virus and its transmission. The world over, communities are still researching it. While there is now partial clarity about the pathways of its transmission, its impact on different organs, persistence of antibodies generated by the body against the virus, its virulence and mutations over time remain important questions. Projects are being supported to study all this. The department of science and technology (DST) opened multiple fronts to combat covid-19. We are strengthening basic research in pathways of transmission of the virus, its mechanisms of action, repurposing of the drugs and the search for vaccines. We do have challenges. We have more densely populated cities, which helps the spread of infection.

However, considering its large population, India has indeed managed the covid-19 situation with a mix of strategies better than even many developed countries. We are into a new normal as we cannot shut down our livelihood options. Gradually, we have ramped up testing, which is one of the reasons we are getting more cases. With more testing, we are able to catch infections early and treat those infected, which is why we have a low death rate and a high recovery rate. We should not look at the absolute numbers, which are proportional to population, but at indicators such as the percentages of infected and recovered populations, doubling time, severity of cases and fatalities, and others, which provide a holistic picture of the effective interventions required.