India Must Prepare for Jump in Cases After Lockdown: Nabarro

David Nabarro, World Health Organization director general’s special envoy on Covid-19, told Krishna Kumar and Divya Rajagopal in an exclusive interview that India has done well so far but it needs to prepare for the increase in cases once the lockdown is lifted. Excerpts:

On India’s handling of Covid-19
I am impressed with the totality of the Indian response, the way the authorities are working with the local population in tracing, isolating infections. I can see through the data that it is a well-organised response, it is a tribute to not just those who are leading the response but also to the people involved as well as those who are doing contact tracing. Finding contacts of those infected is the only way you can stay ahead of the virus. I am conscious of the enormity of the struggle.

On lockdown
From all the evidence that I have seen, imposing movement restrictions is very important. It gives the authorities time to ramp up public health services on the ground. The virus does not go away during lockdown… as the lockdown is lifted, we must know where the virus is going.

I believe the release (of the lockdown) in India may be gradual. There would be an outbreak as lockdown is lifted; governments will have to make a plan to contain them without suppressing economic activity. We need to apply the principles that we have learned, maximising physical distancing and protecting people from infection while at the same time continuing with economic activity because people need to have cash to procure food.

On testing in Maharashtra
Only when more testing is done will you detect more positive cases… Managing an infection in a very crowded location is quite a challenge, many other countries in Middle East, Latin America and Africa are also facing the same challenge, There is no instruction manual, which is why the willingness of Maharashtra and Mumbai to share their experiences openly instead of hiding is commendable. All around the world the more you test the more you detect the virus.