The Indian communist-run state of Kerala has reported 4 COVID-19 deaths with little over 500 cases after 90+ days since the first outbreak in January.
A state with 34 million+ people contained the pandemic better than most similarly sized but more "developed" countries.
A state with 34 million+ people contained the pandemic better than most similarly sized but more "developed" countries.
To compare, California has a population of 39 million but has almost 3,000 deaths and over 70,000 confirmed cases.
How has the communist government of Kerala been so successful in fighting the coronavirus? (a thread)
How has the communist government of Kerala been so successful in fighting the coronavirus? (a thread)
• Early on the government decided that the welfare of its people was more important than the welfare of capital.
• A strategy of "breaking the chain" of infections by aggressive testing, contact tracing and instituting quarantines.
• A strategy of "breaking the chain" of infections by aggressive testing, contact tracing and instituting quarantines.
• A strong universal healthcare system which hasn't been eroded by decades of neoliberalism like in the rest of the world.
• Transparent and clear information campaigns, with the communist Chief Minister Vijayan holding daily media briefings assuring the people with careful but truthful messaging.
• A focus on mental health of the people, ensuring that nobody feels abandoned and preventing distress caused by isolation, setting up call centres with 241 counselors.
• Close cooperation between the government and social movements, with communist youth organizations making sanitizer, women's cooperatives producing masks, volunteers with the Communist Party and trade unions disinfecting public spaces and buses.
• A relief package including free food packages, millions of cooked meal deliveries to schoolchildren and those in need, employment guarantee schemes and two months of pension payments to the elderly.
• Food and shelter for the homeless and 250,000 migrant workers from neighbouring states who were trapped by the lockdown.
• Even stray dogs and monkeys are being looked after, who in normal times are fed by locals in the streets and temples.
The slogan of Kerala during this pandemic has been "physical distance, social unity", demonstrating that the only way to get through this pandemic is together.
