The pandemic “tsunami” of the past months hit and nearly collapsed India’s public health system on a large scale, in the period from mid-April to early June. In this context, thanks to careful preparation and sound resource investment strategy, southern Indian states like Tamil Nadu suffered less severe damage than other regions, according to the report. Financial Times . Prepare early for the bad scenario Jacob John, a doctor at a medical school in the city of Vellore, said the number of patients treated at the hospital where he worked at one time reached “uncontrollable thresholds”. At that time, the hospital’s 900 beds were filled, causing the facility to refuse to accept more patients and nearly drain its reserve of breathing air for treatment. But when a catastrophic second wave of disease hit Tamil Nadu and other southern states, places like Vellore were able to withstand the worst Covid-19 tragedy. The ability of these states to fight the epidemic is largely due to the planned and effective investment in the public health care system in the southern states. A woman has her blood pressure checked before getting a Covid-19 vaccine in Tamil Nadu, India. Photo: PTI. Experts say that in many other parts of India, the lack of investment and reconstruction for the public health system was exposed when the Covid-19 tsunami swept through. Tamil Nadu is recording about 22,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 500 deaths every day. Under that pressure, Tamil Nadu officials still managed to push back the wave of the epidemic. “The current situation is very difficult. We do not have enough intensive care beds and are forced to refuse to accept many patients,” said Dr. John. “I’m not saying we’re perfect, but when the wave is over, I’m sure the investments in the public health system will save lives.” Before the second Covid-19 storm made landfall, healthcare systems in many other parts of the country, including the capital New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, were nearly completely collapsed. whole. Many patients die from lack of oxygen while the crematorium is overloaded, causing some families to choose to let their bodies float in the river. New Delhi fell before the pandemic, the number of deaths increased sharply, overloading the crematoriums. Photo: Reuters. Although the southern states of India have also “tasteed” the Covid-19 tragedy, experts say that these localities are resilient to cope with the recent outbreak of the disease. “Thanks to a well-developed healthcare infrastructure, the situation in the southern states is not as shocking as in many other places,” said Ratan Jalan, founder of Medium Healthcare Consulting. India’s southern states account for about 250 million of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion population. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are leaders in healthcare, with indicators such as infant mortality rates consistently low. Except for the state of Karnataka, other parts of South India have abundant medical supplies and many medical colleges. The Sustainable Development Report released by the United Nations and government think tanks in early June also ranks the southern states as having the best public health care systems in India. Authorities in these states also issued a blockade order in May. The strategy helped reduce the number of new Covid-19 cases, temporarily controlling the spread of the pathogen. However, Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka and India’s tech hub, still has a higher number of SARS-CoV-2 infections than other major cities. According to Ravi Mehta, an emergency worker at Apollo Hospital in Bangalore, when the hospital set up a new treatment ward at the end of April, all 30 beds were empty in just 90 minutes. When the treatment area was replenished with 70 beds, it was completely empty in less than 3 hours. Although the pressure has now eased, the hospital’s intensive care unit is still full, and is now used to treat patients with serious complications. Resource disparity States like Maharashtra in western India are also highly rated for their ability to respond to the Covid-19 “tsunami”. However, no state in the west really fights the epidemic as effectively as in the south, according to Financial Times . Kerala, where India’s first Covid-19 case was detected in 2020, is a rare state in the west with many bright spots in disease response. During the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic, Kerala health officials controlled the spread of the disease and brought the number of corona virus infections to zero in a few days in May 2020. The number of Covid-19 cases in Kerala increased to more than 40,000 cases per day in May, but quickly dropped to the threshold of 20,000 cases per day, according to the report. Financial Times . Experts say the authorities of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have tackled the crisis by building networks of healthcare workers to help sick people find treatment. They have also created strategic systems to distribute resources such as oxygen and oxygen tanks, preventing severe shortages. The high number of infections in the southern states of India and at the same time reflect widespread testing, provide a full picture of the epidemic situation. Medical staff in Kerala, India take samples to test for Covid-19. Photo: Indian Express. On the other hand, the fact that the southern states better control the epidemic also exposes the inequality between rich and poor in the world’s No. 2 epidemic center. In May, at least 20 patients at a hospital in rural Karnataka died from lack of oxygen. In Goa, the southern tourist hub, many patients died from inadequate breathing air. PV Ramesh, a doctor and former senior civil servant in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southeastern India, said the Covid-19 crisis will force the whole country to acknowledge the failure of the medical system. public economy of this country. “This outbreak is still seen as an oxygen supply crisis rather than a management crisis (by health officials), Mr. Ramesh said. “As the wave of disease subsides, people will return to normalcy,” Ramesh said. went back to business as usual and didn’t learn any lessons.” Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

“Then, the nurse in charge told me that that day India did not have a new hospital stay due to Covid-19. A surge of relief,” said Mr. Udwadia. Financial Times . Indian people and hospitals struggled because of Covid-19. Photo: Reuters. The joy is short-lived After 245 days of continuously fighting the epidemic, that moment brought rare happiness to Mr. Udwadia. He and his colleagues smiled with relief that across India, the number of new cases per day had fallen below 15,000. This encouraging sign also corresponds to the declining Covid-19 observed at the hospital at that time. But the joy is short: Summer welcomes India with a terrible April. The worrying numbers are constantly inching up. On April 26, India set a global record with 352,991 new cases within 24 hours. “On the hospital beds, the scene seems to have been cut from the ‘Hell’ part of poet Dante’s Divine Song,” Udwadia said. With the meager source of oxygen, long lines of patients fought for life with death. Meanwhile, echoing in space are calls for help. The patient’s expectation seems hopeless amid the indifference of the medical staff, who are also strained by the great pressure of the mission to save lives. In the warehouse, oxygen gradually runs out, while many essential pharmaceuticals are in short supply. Even patients in hospitals will not be able to hold out for long once the oxygen supply is depleted. In the black markets, oxygen cylinders are for sale for $ 670, eight times the usual level. Even so, the patients still buy in stock, preparing for the worst possible scenario. India struggled in the second wave of infections. Photo: Reuters. Mistakes All positive signs disappear after three months. In January, the Indian Minister of Health proudly declared: “India has stabilized the Covid chart”. This confidence cannot help India obscure a painful reality: The corona virus is besieging a country of 1.4 billion people. Instead of capitalizing on that precious time in January to ramp up vaccine deployment, secure oxygen supplies and tighten social gaps, India has allowed more localities to campaign for elections and 3, 5 million followers crowded along the banks of the Ganges River during the Kumbh Mela festival. “The virus is forgotten because we declare ourselves the winners,” Udwadia said. Then, as a matter of course, the second Covid-19 wave hit like a fierce tidal wave, making its own impact in 2020 just like a ripple of water. Many believe this wave is caused by the Indian variant B.1.617. This variant has two frightening mutations, the E484Q and the L452R. The lethality of the new variant causes nations to race to close their borders with India. The corona virus pushed the nation of billions of people into turmoil. Photo: Reuters. “As a doctor, I guarantee that the virus appears to be more contagious, has more serious fatalities and affects young people more often than before,” Udwadia said. Currently, patients between the ages of 26 and 44 account for about 40% of cases and nearly 10% of deaths in India. Meanwhile, the story of the vaccine still has its own questions. Instead of calling for 1.7 billion doses of vaccine stockpiling from trusted manufacturers, India has left it all for its “vaccine superpower” label. Early miscalculation now gives way to despair. Waiting for vaccinations crowded in Mumbai had only received an answer that most of the distribution sites were out of stock. Given the current situation (about 5% of India’s population is vaccinated), the coveted prospect of public immunity (when 70% of the population has viral antigens) will take at least another 700 days to be successful. realistic. ‘I lost my wife and children on the same day because of Covid-19’ Most hospitals in India are overcrowded, relatives miserable begging for beds and oxygen cylinders for patients. The furnaces were incinerated, many trucks carrying corpses lined up in long queues.

In addition, this company will serve other financial institutions such as state-owned banks to compete in lending with fintech companies. According to a source close to the Financial Times, Ant Group wants to lead the new company. But PBoC said that this will create a conflict of interest. China wants to take control of Ant Group’s huge data warehouse. (Photo: FT) “The first priority is to ensure that the new business fully complies with the regulations. State participation will help the PBoC achieve those goals,” a source revealed. In January, the PBoC announced regulations requiring Chinese companies to secure government approval before being allowed to provide personal credit services. These companies have to ensure that they have 3 licenses and all are subject to government control. PBoC officials held a conversation with Ant Group executives on April 12. This month, Chinese regulators also asked Ant Group to restructure and sanction Xi. Alibaba Group Jack Ma’s record fine of 2.8 billion USD. Banks in China have long complained that Ant Group has benefited by not having to comply with the same strict regulations on lending as they do. The company has established a dominance in China with more than 700 million users a month on Alipay, an Alibaba mobile payment app. By the end of June 2020, Ant Group had developed a consumer lending platform with outstanding credit to about 1,700 billion yuan ($ 262 billion), more than any Chinese bank. Come on. In addition, the fintech company charges banks for loans on their apps. “Ant Group’s credit database offers a lot of value to banks,” said a former PBoC official. A person knowledgeable about this issue commented: “Ant Group needs to find a way to legalize this data warehouse. The proposed solution is to set up a credit reporting company approved by PBoC”. But there are also opinions that state control could affect the ability to collect and analyze information for Ant Group’s core business units, including consumer lending. “Ant Group really wants to hold on to its most valuable assets,” said a source. The central bank of China will release a report this Sunday on the creation of a state-controlled data company. However, neither Ant Group nor the PBoC have yet to comment on this. Phuong Anh (According to Financial Times)