A group of over 50 entrepreneurs have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to act now and decisively curb the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus.
While appealing to the Government to learn from China’s Wuhan, the capitalists and start-ups have called for “strict lockdown and imposition of Section 144 across major cities.
“Countries which have acted early and strongly (South Korea, Singapore, Japan etc.) are able to ‘flatten the curve’ and bring down cases compared to those which waited and watched (Eg. Iran, Italy, France and USA),” the document said.
It added that data from 1918 Fly Pandemic strongly suggests early action.
It said, while containment efforts are continuing, India must now take stricter measures and also warned of community transmission in less than 30 days from today.
Proposing a data based on research, the group stated that “a lockdown now vs 30 days later may help save five times more lives in juts 90 days”.
It said the Government of India should impose a 2-3 week lockdown with Section 144 imposed across impacted cities and be prepared for a second lockdown later.
However, warning that a second lockdown may have to be imposed, the presentation also urged the government to ensure supply of essentials, like food, medicine and money, and ensure availability of services like public transportation.
“The virus does not discriminate on the basis of nationality – early, strong and decisive action is key to containment. Impose Section 144 and strict lockdown (citizens stay at home) across major cities for two weeks starting March 20, 2020,” the presentation said.
The 10-slide presentation has been created and endorsed by over 50 entrepreneurs, including Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal, Phanindra Sama of Red Bus and Rohan Verzma of MapmyIndia.
Collaborated with @_mekin@vivekanandahr @1kunalbahl@kunalb11 @annamalai_k @alokmittal001 @varunjain42 and many other founders to prepare this doc, urging @PMOIndia to act now & decisively to curb COVID-19. Lots of references to @tomaspueyo‘s great work. https://t.co/T2VtWGQlKL
— Abhiraj Singh Bhal (@abhirajbhal) March 17, 2020
The COVID-19 coronavirus has infected 147 people so far in the country and three have died.
The outbreak is currently in Stage 2 (of 4) in India, meaning there is local transmission from infected persons, ie., from relatives or family members who travelled abroad.
The Coronavirus infection, which originated in Wuhan’s China in December last year, has so far killed over 7000 people globally and infected nearly 2 lakh.