Due to COVID 19, routine health services have been massively displaced. So far, COVID-19 infections were heavily concentrated in large cities located in India’s more prosperous states: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, among others. The preparedness of the health system is much higher there than elsewhere. But recorded cases are now rising fast in India’s poorer states, where health services are very fragile. As the COVID-19 crisis absorbs their meager resources, many public health centers have stopped providing routine services. Even child immunization has been discontinued for months in many states. Obviously its a matter of concerns. Government seems more focused on public relations than enlightened action. For a long time, it forcefully denied any community transmission of COVID-19, even as recorded cases were counted in millions. When an early analysis of official data exposed the disruption of routine health services, the central government retracted the data. Doctors and nurses critical of the government’s crisis response have been muzzled or harassed, alleging the opposition parties. Govt. Should take immediate steps in routine health services also.
