Read on Twitter
This is a helpful thread on a poorly written article in bloomberg on infecting everyone in India to get herd immunity. @mlipsitch was misquoted. And while I agree that India cannot go from the most severe lockdown to opening up completely, some issues to to keep in mind. (1/n) https://twitter.com/mlipsitch/status/1253499747697975298
. @ATabarrok and I point out in our policy brief, the average residential living space in India per household is 500 square feet, and the average per capita living space is 116.2 square feet (112.5 square feet for rural areas and 127.2 for urban areas). https://www.mercatus.org/publications/covid-19-policy-brief-series/pandemic-policy-developing-countries-recommendations-india 2/n
In Mumbai, India’s densest city, the average living space per capita was reported to be 48 square feet in 2009, smaller than an American prison cell. In Mumbai slums average living space is as low as 30 square feet. So social distancing is not easy after opening up. 3/n
India has a high degree of intergenerational cohabitation - average household size in India is 4.3 persons per household - but a majority of households include individuals across three generations. So keeping the elderly safe while working age population engages is difficult. 4/n
Only 21.4 percent of all Indians have piped water into the dwelling as the principal source of drinking water. Most rural Indians rely on hand pumps shared by the community. This makes social distancing unlikely with or without a lockdown. 5/n
India's healthcare system is woefully inadequate for its population. @kaapi_croissant and I assess the capacity here https://www.mercatus.org/publications/covid-19-policy-brief-series/assessing-healthcare-capacity-india. 6/n
Most state governments have not increased healthcare capacity during he lockdown, a major problem in getting the elderly and at risk populations proper treatment after opening up the lockdown. 7/n
India cannot have an endless lockdown, or even one as long as developed countries. But there is no easy answer for getting out of the lockdown. Indian conditions make it difficult to keep risk populations safe while allowing others to engage in the economy. 8/n
India should be investing heavily in improving healthcare and sanitation capacity swiftly to protect those at risk. And exiting the lockdown in India has to be a slow process, especially in places like Mumbai. Only those districts without any cases can be reopened quickly. n/n
