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Reporting on COVID-19: IPSMF grantees to the fore
IPSMF’s grantees are in the frontline of reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reporting from the epicentre of events, asking tough questions of authorities, providing explainers, busting fake news and dismantling disinformation. In short, exemplifying the role that the media should play in these extraordinary times - informing and educating the citizens; and keeping the government on its toes.
We bring you a set of select stories, videos, analyses and podcasts from our grantees that have led and nudged the coverage.
Ground reports
The Wire Impact: Thane Hospital Doctors Finally Get Protective Gear
The Wire’s correspondent visited two Thane-run hospitals and found doctors treating patients without any personal protective equipment (PPE) whatsoever. This when the area had eight COVID-19 positive cases. When the reporter approached the officials for their version, she was threatened with being booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act for “spreading panic”. Unfazed, the report was written and the hospital got its supply of PPE in 24-hours!
A Covid-19 Patient’s ‘Strange Case’ Locks Down Kasaragod
A man alighted at the Karipur airport from Dubai and stayed in a lodge in Kozhikode. Next morning, he took a train to Kasaragod, his home town. Back at home, he attended public functions, a football match, a local club and even hosted guests at a family function. Soon thereafter, he was tested positive for Coronavirus. Kasaragod soon reported six other cases, two of whom had come in contact with the man. This one man’s misdemeanour led to the entire district of Kasaragod being locked down, The Lede reported.
India’s shift to insurance-led private healthcare weakens its ability to combat COVID-19: Experts
India’s shift to insurance-led private healthcare, through the Ayushman Bharat scheme, has affected its ability to fight COVID-19. The Caravan speaks to a bevy of experts who argue that the private sector being based on the demand-supply model tends to be crowded around the major towns. Consequently, they will not have the bandwidth and the reach into the interiors when faced with a pandemic situation like COVID-19.
वाराणसी: कोरोना वायरस स े देश म लॉकडाउन, रोजगार पर पड़ा असर In a deep-reported video story, Khabar Lahariya correspondent talks to daily-wage workers in Varanasi and Mahoba districts of Uttar Pradesh on how the lockdown after COVID-19 has completely brought their lives to a standstill, with rations fast running out and no assistance yet from the local government.
Infodemic: As dangerous as the Covid-19 pandemic
‘Infodemic’ - the spread of fake news and disinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic is exacting a toll - in social and human cost. A Max Maharashtra video, anchored by senior journalist Nikil Wagle, dwells on the price being paid by migrants, those socially ostracised and the poor, as a consequence of the Infodemic.
Covid-19: Milk supply under threat amid demand spike
In the immediate aftermath of the shutdown, milk supply, critical to the nutrition and lives of millions, almost came to a standstill as migrant labourers started heading back to their hometowns, reports Down To Earth. Milk collection centres were shut and milkmen were barred from entering villages in several states, affecting supply. Co-operative units — that opened with the help of the administration suffered from lack of labour, as fears of unemployment led migrant workers to return to their villages and hometowns.
The social sector response to Covid-19 In a unique story, India Development Review (IDR) crowdsourced documentation on how to manage work in the times of Corona. A must-read for organizations which are forced into working remotely - including dos and don’ts on working in the field and from home, what organisations expect from foundations, how to keep the organisational morale going, etc.
The Print: Special coverage The Print has been on the frontline of the coverage with a special section on the pandemic spearheaded by editor Shekhar Gupta. From explainers, infographics, ground reports, the science behind the virus and its antidotes to the efficacy of the WHO and the role of China, the coverage has been comprehensive and deep.
Life vs Livelihood
The lockdown has raised the debate about lives and livelihoods. The lockdown may well save lives but it also pits the migrants, affected by the loss of livelihood, against the state. The grantees have been at the forefront of reporting on this unfortunate conflict.
कोरोना िववाद म झारखडं म 50 साल के दकु ानदार की पीटकर ह या
In Jharkhand, four youths returned from Bengaluru and Hyderabad after the Corona outbreak. The local administration after a medical checkup asked them to quarantine themselves at home. The four youths disregarded the advice and started mixing socially. This was objected to by a local shopkeeper. Enraged, the young boys attacked him resulting in his death. The story from Janjwar portrays the social and human cost of the pandemic.
Ground Report: Chaos at Anand Vihar as Buses Prepare to Take Migrant Workers Home There was chaos at the Delhi-UP border as thousands of migrants converged to take buses to their hometowns in the wake of the Corona shutdown and the consequent loss of livelihoods. The Wire reported that the stories of the migrants were similar – loss of jobs, no savings and not enough money for even food - suddenly left on the streets, with no social nets to cushion the fall.
“We are deserted”: Migrant workers forced to walk hundreds of kilometres due to lockdown Naru Lal Bargot, a daily-wage labourer in Mumbai’s Borivli, is on a 700-km long trek to his village Lohagarh in the Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan. This is after the trains and buses screeched to a halt after the lockdown was announced. The Caravan recounts this epic journey - a graphic and stark illustration of the migrant’s plight.
Explainers
As much as the ground reports, it is important for the media to explain to the citizens the cause, the antidotes and the science behind the pandemic. An informed citizen is an important fight against the disease as it enables him to make rational and sound decisions to protect himself and those around him.
India risks Covid-19 testing chaos as ICMR keeps cards close to its chest The lack of transparency from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), failure to involve private players effectively, insistence on 100% sensitivity for kits and basic logistical hurdles are hurting India’s efforts to effectively test people and fight the spread of COVID-19. The Ken’s Seema Singh explains why.
Deconstructing SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused Covid-19 pandemic Down To Earth reports on the various papers that have been published on the deconstruction of the COVID-19 virus. This, it explains, is important as it is the foundation for finding a cure, even a vaccine.
Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 : The 123 Year Old Law Invoked To Combat Covid-19
The Epidemic Diseases Act, a special law dating back a 100 years, empowers the government to enforce stringent policies in case of a pandemic. The Act was enacted to combat the bubonic plague that broke in the then presidency of Bombay in 1896. It gives powers to the government to declare a region as “threatened” and invoke the authority to inspect, arrest and make special provisions for the afflicted. Very much on the lines of what the government is doing at the moment. Live Law explains the Act and highlights the penal provisions.
How Do Scientists Model the Spread of an Infectious Disease?
In the context of the various predictions on the prognosis of the aftermath of Covid- 19 and the fierce debate, The Wire brings you the story of how scientists model the transmission of infectious diseases.
70 lakh people in Kashmir have to make do with a grand total of 97 ventilators, inadequate ICU units and frustratingly slow 2G internet during the COVID-19 lockdown. Podcast platform Suno India discusses the dire situation in the Valley.
It also talks on the plight of the farmers as the harvest season begins; the dual challenges of finding labour and harvesting machines in the times of the Coronavirus. Listen to their complete coverage.
They have also published imaginative artwork that respond to people's FAQs on COVID-19.
Fact Checking
The pandemic has brought with it a deluge of conspiracy theories and misinformation. This misinformation could potentially hurt people and upend the effort in fighting the pandemic. The grantees have been in the forefront of busting these myths and keeping the citizens informed.
The pandemic and the accompanying ‘Infodemic’ has created bubbles of fake news and myths. Do masks help prevent the spread? Is washing your hands with soap effective? Are places on latitude 40° the most affected by the virus? Does a 14-hour ‘janta curfew’ break the spread? A ton of other bizarre claims, theories and misinformation have been debunked by AltNews.
Covid-19 breeding ground for conspiracy theories — here’s why that’s serious problem
Believe it or not, COVID-19 is “a bio-weapon engineered by the CIA to wage war on China”, the UK and US introduced the coronavirus “to make money from a potential vaccine”. These are the conspiracy theories that were floating in the social media. The dissemination was so strong that the WHO had created a “myth busters page” to debunk these theories. Down To Earth analyses why the conspiracy theories and misinformation is a serious hurdle in the fight against COVID-19.
െകാവിഡ്-19 വാക്സ ിൻ ക പിടിേ ാ സത ാവ െയ ് ?
A vaccine had been developed against COVID-19 was the myth that was rampant in the early days of the pandemic. Dool News fact checked and reported that while strenuous efforts were being made to arrive at a vaccine, we were still a while away.
Society
Challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic most often than not bring out the best in human behaviour. Unfortunately, there are exceptions.
One of the unfortunate collaterals of the Coronavirus outbreak has been the targeting of the citizens from the Northeast in different parts of India. Sikkim Chronicle and Eastmojo outline multiple occasions wherein racists have continued to target people from the Northeast states by taunting them, spitting on them, avoiding contact in rickshaws and yelling "coronavirus" as they pass by.
(here, here and here)
Covid-19: Can A Health Crisis Become A Breeding Site For Gender Inequality?
The preparedness to fight the COVID-19 outbreak requires a reorientation through a gender-based lens, argues Feminism in India (FII). It tells the story of how past epidemics have revealed that gender roles have a marked impact on exposure, transmission, and outcome patterns of an outbreak and argues that since women bear a disproportionate risk of infection, there is a need to combat the virus accordingly.
How Kerala’s Frontline Staff Are Battling It Out
On the positive side, India Spend brings you a story from Pathanamthitta, in Kerala, about dedicated medical staff who have put caregiving before everything else, even their own families! Working long hours each day, healthcare professionals haven’t even seen their young children in days. However, they did smile for a photograph!
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