India begins work on 100-day emergency plan to fight Covid-19

The plan will forecast emergency requirements that may arise in the next three months, depending on how much the coronavirus outbreak intensified.

The NITI Aayog office in New Delhi | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

New Delhi: NITI Aayog, the government’s think tank, has started making a 100-day emergency plan to fight Covid-19.

Led by Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant and Member (Health) V.K. Paul, the body is working on a detailed plan to forecast emergency requirements that can arise in the next three months, in case the coronavirus outbreak intensifies.

Under the plan, the NITI Aayog will share its projections on resource-based requirements and recommendations for the central government.

“The objective of the plan is to prepare for the immediate and medium term — based on data, projections and evidence,” Paul told ThePrint.

“While the state governments and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have been putting a concerted effort, there is a need for systematic assessment and planning which will require analysis of data from the country and across the globe, for projection of scenarios of the disease. As a think tank, this will be our timely input in the fast-evolving national effort,” Paul said.

He added that India has not started seeing community transmission as yet.

Until Wednesday, India reported a total of 606 cases, while the number of deaths stood at 10, according to data released by the health ministry. The number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 553, while 43 people have been cured, discharged or migrated.

What it will assess

The NITI Aayog will analyse the available resources and the upsurge in their requirements across the country. A separate plan will be made for under-served areas.

It is likely to submit the plan to the health ministry by next week.

“From assessing the need for manpower to personal protective equipment, ventilators, surveillance mechanisms, ambulance availability and various other things, a detailed analysis will be carried out,” another government official said.

The analysis will also predict the financial requirements for the next three months for handling coronavirus crisis, considering the three parameters of crisis — mild, moderate and severe.

“(Conducting a study in advance) will help India prepare a strategy to guard against the pandemic, which has shattered well-established health systems of developed nations,” said the government official.