Covid-19: The New Battlefields

In its villages, where cases are on a sharp upswing, India’s battle against the pandemic is on a wing and a prayer, given the desperately inadequate public health infrastructure in the hinterland

- Sonali Acharjee

The arrival of the postman is a much-anticipated event in Chinnambavi village in Telangana. Senior citizens and widows wait for him to bring them their pension, and news from the outside world. On August 16, however, he seems to have brought along the coronavirus too. Ten days after the postman’s visit to this village of 25,000 people, 110 inhabitants—many of them elderly—tested positive for COVID. Many had to be treated at the district headquarters of Wanaparthy. The district, which has 21 containment zones, has just one COVID hospital with 100 beds, and they are filling up fast.

The situation in Pune district in Maharashtra is as grim. Till three weeks ago, all the 360 residents of the Rajewadi village in the district were free of COVID. Then, on August 17, an elderly resident died of the disease, which he is thought to have contracted while visiting a temple in a neighboring village. Today, the village has 91 cases and a worryingly high infection rate of 25 percent compared to the national average of 8.6 percent. The nearest COVID hospital is in Pune city, 50 km away. But COVID hospitals there are packed with patients. Given the present doubling rate, the district will likely see another 27,000 cases over the next week, which will leave it short of about 2,000 oxygen beds, 150 ICU beds, and some 350 ventilators.