A question of quarantine: On migrant workers and other travellers
16th May, 2020
The Centre and States
must have uniform requirements for travellers
As TENS OF THOUSANDS of people move across
States, many of them migrant workers and their families travelling as
unorganised groups, the Centre finds itself facing a fresh front in the
campaign to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. While it was possible to shut down
optional public activity and travel early on during the lockdown, those who
were STRANDED within the country and abroad have started returning home. Only
some are travelling by trains and aircraft, and the system of quarantine in the
States is not uniform. The Centre, as the lockdown regulator, now has the
important task of creating a CONSENSUS with the States on the quarantine
modalities. Confusion surrounding quarantine for passengers who took the first
relief trains from New Delhi to various cities, leading to some of them
returning to the national capital, UNDERSCORES the need for agreement. The
response so far has been flat-footed in several States. Train passengers
arriving in Bengaluru protested that they received no advance notice of institutional
quarantine, although they were given an option to stay in hotels for 14 days
incurring considerable expenditure. Labourers compulsorily quarantined in Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar escaped from the facilities after complaining of bad
conditions. In Kerala, the Centre insists on a 14-day institutional quarantine
for those arriving by air, rejecting the State’s proposal for seven days in a
public facility and another seven at home; train passengers were given a home
quarantine option. Such a lack of CERTITUDE, even as the extended lockdown is
set to expire, reflects failure at building consensus.
With further easing of the lockdown, if not
full withdrawal, many more will want to move within and between States, by rail
and road, besides those returning from abroad. All States have to prepare for
this by agreeing on the period of quarantine, and provide, as a baseline,
decent and free official accommodation to anyone who wants it. There could be
options, including hotels and private accommodation, at non-exploitative
tariffs. Such a stratified approach is INEVITABLE, considering that many
travellers from areas with high transmission have been testing positive. For
thousands of workers moving in groups by road across States, there is both the
risk of infection and transmission. This is a DAUNTING scenario as India has
crossed 85,000 cases of COVID-19 and slowing the spread depends vitally on
joint action. It must be pointed out that the Health Ministry, in its updated
advice issued on May 10, approved home isolation for even patients with the
virus, if they are DEEMED to be very mild to PRE-SYMPTOMATIC cases. This
indicates a recognition of both the growing case load, the rising pressure on
public facilities and the limited scope for paid quarantine. Yet, institutional
capacity will have to be RAMPED UP in the coming weeks as part of a cohesive
policy.
Important Vocabs:-
1.TENS OF THOUSANDS (phrase)-a large number of something.
2.STRANDED (adj)-unable
to leave somewhere because of a problem such as not having any transport or
money.फँसा हुआ,असहाय
3.CONSENSUS (n)-a general
agreement.सामंजस्य,आम सहमति
4.UNDERSCORES (v)-to
emphasize the importance something.
5.CERTITUDE
(n)-certainty,confidence,assurance,fervour,firmness,etc.निश्चितता
6.INEVITABLE (n)-
necessary,unavoidable,inescapable,inexorable,ineluctable,etc.अनिवार्य
7.DAUNTING (adj)-seeming
difficult to deal with in prospect or intimidating or worrying.कठिन
8.DEEMED (v)-to consider
in a certain way.
9.PRE-SYMPTOMATIC
(adj)-not yet displaying symptoms of an illness or disease.
10.RAMPED UP (phrasal
verb)-to increase activity or the level of something.बढ़ाना
