Open AccessCOVID-19, Physical Distancing and Social Inequalities: Are We all Really in this Together?
Author(s) -
Lakshmi Lingam,
Rahul Suresh Sapkal
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the international journal of community and social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2516-6034
pISSN - 2516-6026
DOI - 10.1177/2516602620937932
Subject(s) - social distance , case fatality rate , index (typography) , provisioning , distancing , phone , public health , sample (material) , environmental health , covid-19 , demographic economics , business , geography , demography , socioeconomics , medicine , economics , sociology , population , computer science , telecommunications , linguistics , philosophy , chemistry , nursing , disease , pathology , chromatography , world wide web , infectious disease (medical specialty)
In the absence of a vaccine for combating the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), countries globally are going in for a national lockdown and are mandating all people to stay indoors, and, if out in the public domain, to maintain 2-m distance, wear masks and wash hands with soap to mitigate the spread of the virus and its community transmission. The significance of the much neglected public health measures to deal with communicable diseases has come back to haunt several countries with a large proportion of people who are poor and who live in dense settlements with low levels of public provisioning of basic amenities. This article attempts to examine the feasibility of the recommended physical distancing using data from a national level sample from India. With the aid of data on parameters such as access to water, toilet, electricity, mobile phone and secure employment from the 75th and 76th National Sample Survey Rounds of 2017–2018, a Physical Distancing Readiness Index has been constructed. The performance of 27 states and 2 union territories of India is examined using the Index. This study examines the statistical correlation of a Physical Distancing Readiness Index to the incidence rate and case fatality ratio of COVID-19. Our results show that the poorer households are unequally endowed for observing physical distancing and ensuring the effective implementation of lockdown, which leads to disproportionate increase in the incidence rate and case fatality ratio, keeping other factors constant.