State governments and cities are finding it particularly hard to deal with #COVID2019india #Covid_19 making #IndiaFightsCorona hard on state capacity, finances, individuals and systems. I collaborated with @Tavpritesh and @guptasud to put together a primer for states/cities. 
It is important to know a few basic facts and statistics. Like the difference between Covid19 (the disease), 2019-nCov (nomenclature) and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus). There are some basic statistics that can be helpful based on the state, district, city, town or taluka's planning.
That's where we're at right now with updates at covidindia.org and bing.com/covid and most importantly at coronavirus.jhu.edu for global perspective and learnings.
So, how do we get about attempting to bell the cat? Courage, competence and conscience are a prerequisite as is consistency and collaboration. Yes. 5 Cs to take on one :)
However, this is a problem that state, market and society can't solve alone. They need to do it together.
However, this is a problem that state, market and society can't solve alone. They need to do it together.
There's a shitshow that is happening on several fronts. However, there is a need to look beyond for now and work towards six major canvases of intervention.
1. Communication
2. Infrastructure and Supplies
3. Contact Tracing
4. City Lockdown
5. Essential Services
6. Funds
1. Communication
2. Infrastructure and Supplies
3. Contact Tracing
4. City Lockdown
5. Essential Services
6. Funds
Given governance structures in states and cities, it could be a technical back-end sub-committee could be very useful. In shutdown times, multiple states and cities could collaborate on Slack. Our preference order would be renowned/cited academics > bureaucrats > pvt sector.
Effective communication needed. Calm and collected press briefings (Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal) and information release (Kerala CM @vijayanpinarayi)
Our favourite examples of info/insights on #Covid19
1. moh.gov.sg/covid-19
2. coronasafe.network
3. helpwithcovid.com
Our favourite examples of info/insights on #Covid19
1. moh.gov.sg/covid-19
2. coronasafe.network
3. helpwithcovid.com
There is a need for trustworthy two-way communication. Every citizen who wants to talk to the government should be able to do so.
Directives are best through newspapers, TV and radio.
Communication through social media and websites.
Engagement through IVR, SMS and Whatsapp.
Directives are best through newspapers, TV and radio.
Communication through social media and websites.
Engagement through IVR, SMS and Whatsapp.
Seeking citizen feedback on psychological, economic, social and medical issues affecting life will be necessary for both ameliorating physical and mental suffering.
We are in this together and stronger as such.
Calling to receive feedback on random samples is necessary.
We are in this together and stronger as such.
Calling to receive feedback on random samples is necessary.
Testing and isolation go hand in hand at a social distance :) ICMR, private sector, state zoning and court judgments along with collaboration on infrastructure (human and equipment) can help bridge the gap even if not completely close it. South Korea has to be the role model.
Testing needs to be done recursively over a sample of the population to declare wards or ward committee areas or mohalla/wards/grams as red-yellow-green. Testing could also be done at home. Private, at-home, random and remote testing all needed with public sector response.
Supply for testing needs to be augmented through rapid production. Cities could do it for themselves in legally locked or policy-wise defunct industrial or commercial areas. Spaces can convert to hospitals or godowns. Health infrastructure modelling/mapping necessary!
Quarantine requires testing, isolation, tracing, communication and a judicious balance of carrots and sticks based on locality, severity and scale of hospital admissions.
Intra-city tracking requires community and CCTV. Inter-city tracking requires policing and technology and possibly even social media. Will require some IT act related interventions that should be temporary and time-bound or indexed to a certain number at WHO.
Singapore and Poland have provided some methods of combining technology and financial incentives/disincentives to do so. It might be worthy to adapt some of these ideas in collaboration with tech platforms/providers for your local issue but with a common shareable stack.
Hospital beds, hotel rooms, rapid construction for either, exhibition halls, university hostels for day scholars, college auditoriums, educational institutions likes schools, vacant EWS housing and vacant apartment complex rooms could be useful quarantine typologies.
On ICU followup on ventilators, oxygen and optimal utilization (tech design on ventilators, multiple patient use, staggered or scheduled utilization over time as capacity increases)
Patient triage based on symptoms, risk profile and pre-existing conditions. Tutorials at the Gram Sabha or Mohalla Sabha level if possible through ASHA, Anganwadi, nursing home, GP and private hospital/nursing home level.
Surgical guidelines for hospitals. Necessary to fund at high-quality hygiene and big quantity masks, gloves, goggles and communication materials. Staff should be staggered and not overworked or undertested.
The drug trials to follow up and keep an eye out for over time. Academic institutions should also complete results over time. Kaggle dataset from South Korea must be supplemented by Indian hospitals on process and treatment analysis based on patient profile.
Disposing dead bodies will be a necessary and disappointing issue it is worth thinking about right now. Start early be clear.
Contact tracing shouldn't be hard especially in states with less than 50 cases. It is a few call centers of relentless follow-up and triangulation based on data. Rest will require tremendous followup or sustained effort from administrative hands in revenue and home departments.
Potential tech ideas on contact tracing that need to be thought of from research, accuracy and privacy perspective.
Singapore's contact tracing for India to learn from.
Contact tracing in Israel. Worth understanding.
Here are tools built by @mapunity for airport tracing as well as administrative/citizen-centric city views. As usual @ashwinmahesh at the back-end of most things :) Three links on social media and civic tech that will hep with porting and consolidating traces.
On lockdowns and what's need to make them convenient, comforting and continuos over sustained period of time in India.
Peripheral to an immediate crisis but policymakers must plan for essential services (especially food, water and energy given summers) as well as funds for an economic bailout and continuous research. The earlier all state and city minds connect, the faster are hands get free.
And well, here's our reading list. Feel free to shoot questions.
We hope our country's state Chief Ministers, Health Ministers and city officials are listening and are happy to help as we can!
FIN. For tonight. See you all in the morning :)
We hope our country's state Chief Ministers, Health Ministers and city officials are listening and are happy to help as we can!
FIN. For tonight. See you all in the morning :)
