Prominent public health experts in India , including two members of the Indian Council for Medical Research’s National Task Force, have cri...
Prominent public health experts in India, including two members of the Indian Council for Medical Research’s National Task Force, have criticised the Narendra Modi government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the failure to consult epidemiologists about the disease.
A joint statement by the Indian Public Health Association, Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine and Indian Association of Epidemiologists was submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 25. The statement was signed by Dr DCS Reddy, a former professor at the Banaras Hindu University and Dr Shashi Kant, professor and head of community medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Both Reddy and Kant are part of the epidemiology and surveillance research group constituted by the National Task Force on April 6. Reddy heads the research group.
“It is unrealistic to expect that Covid-19 pandemic can be eliminated at this stage given that community transmission is already well-established across large sections or sub-populations in the country,” the statement said. The Centre has consistently refused to admit to community transmission of the virus even as India has recorded over 1.82 lakh cases.
The signatories said the Centre should have approached epidemiologists following the outbreak for a better understanding of the disease. “Had the government of India consulted...
