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Reverse migration of workers led to an increase in number of Covid cases, says ICMR chief

In an article written for the first edition of an ICMR newsletter, e-Samvaad, Balram Bhargava also noted that the novel coronavirus has affected poor people the most.

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New Delhi: The reverse migration of thousands of workers from cities and towns to villages led to an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director general Dr Balram Bhargava has said.

In an article written for the first edition of an ICMR newsletter, e-Samvaad, Bhargava also noted that the novel coronavirus has affected poor people the most. 

“There is no doubt that corona has affected villages, poor people and daily wagers the most. As a result a huge number of the labour class started migrating,” Bhargava wrote in the newsletter.

A large number of migrant workers, he said, mobilised from the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat towards Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. 

“This lead to increase in number of corona patients… In such a situation, it was necessary to make arrangements for Covid testing in every city so that the infected could be identified and provided with better treatment to prevent others from getting infected,” he added in a column titled ICMR guarded India against corona havoc.

Lauding the role of the ICMR, he said, “A strategy was formulated for monitoring, investigation and treatment in these states… ICMR is continuously working in this direction so that affected and infected people get treatment at the right time and death rate can be curbed.” 

The newsletter released by India’s apex medical research institution has been published with the aim of providing the “latest updates from the ICMR’s initiatives and institutes across the country”. The first issue was released on 2 July. The e-newsletter is available on the ICMR’s website.


Also Read: ‘Taskmaster, skilled administrator, impulsive’ — ICMR’s Bhargava who wanted vaccine by 15 Aug


Modi govt’s early decision helped: Bhargava

Bhargava also praised the “early decision” of the Modi government to announce relief packages “one after the other” for sections of the population worst affected by the lockdown. 

“These relief packages were implemented on the ground with immediate effect and brought relief to the countrymen. State governments played a crucial and decisive role in this campaign and made sure that everyone gets benefited from this,” he said, before going on to laud a few state governments. 

“The strategy of (the) Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh was well planned to regulate these relief packages. Other states also acted upon with full responsibility…” he wrote. “In Madhya Pradesh, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also made a significant contribution to this war against corona by implementing these plans in mission mode.”

In conclusion, he said “we will surely win this war against (the) corona epidemic” with the “leadership of Prime Minister Modi and the awareness of citizens”. 


Also Read: ICMR should fast track coronavirus vaccine, not for 15 August but for science


Motto changes to ‘Jaan bhi jahan bhi’

When Covid-19 attacked the whole world, Bhargava wrote, the sole focus of the authorities was “to save lives” and they were driven by the motto, “Jaan hai to jahan hai (if you have life, you have the world)”.

“But after a few months, this fight has taken a new shape and now we have to learn to survive with this until we find a permanent solution for Covid,” he said. “Now, our motto is ‘Jaan bhi jahan bhi (life and world, both)’.” he added, referring to government efforts to ease the lockdown imposed to tackle the pandemic.

Bhargava’s note did not elaborate on what this “permanent solution” might be, but he may be talking about a vaccine to tackle the virus. The ICMR is currently working with the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech on a vaccine candidate, Covaxin. The vaccine was one of two indigenous efforts that received the government’s nod to proceed with human trials earlier this month, the other being Zycov-D of Zydus Cadila

Bhargava did not mention the ICMR’s work on the vaccine in the newsletter. However, in a letter dated 2 July to institutes involved in the vaccine trials, he had controversially announced that the government seeks to launch the vaccine for public use by 15 August, a deadline that has alarmed experts.

Among other things, the article saw Bhargava shower praise on the ICMR “for playing the most important and crucial role in this war against coronavirus”. His organisation, he said, is trying “its best to minimize deaths and control fatality rate”.


Also Read: As India’s soldiers secure borders, ICMR is protecting Indian lives inside them


 

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