After metro cities, rural India struggles to access healthcare; Do we have a plan?

National

The 2nd wave of Coronavirus brought the healthcare system of India’s national capital Delhi to its breaking point even though it is is said to be much more robust compared to the rest of the country. If the much acclaimed healthcare system of Delhi was decimated by the second wave of coronavirus, then how are smaller cities, towns and villages faring?

Apparently, not so well, as the second wave reached the countryside and lower tier cities long ago, savaging them just as well the urban centres of India. Following is information about the rural COVID situation of some northerly states:

Uttar Pradesh

Only the Western region of UP possesses some semblance of Delhi’s health infrastructure and then, the virus is extracting a heavy toll. People from rural  regions have begun flocking to city hospitals and black market activity has sprung up with oxygen cylinders and concentrators, some of which are fake, being sold at extortionate prices. Most people avoid getting tested and thus, accurate data of infections and deaths is hard to come by. In the town of Bahadurgarh in Hapur district, there have been more than 50 deaths in the last month alone, most of which are suspected to have been caused by coronavirus.

Haryana

UP’s neighbour Haryana is going through similar straits, with both testing and reporting of infections and deaths being less numerate than the major cities. The head of Titoli village from Rohtak district reported 40 deaths all of a sudden, causing panic in the village. Although, some of the village residents are claiming that the death toll is double what the village head said. Healthcare workers from nearby cities have been deployed in the village for testing and treatment.

Gujarat

There is widespread night curfew in Gujarat cities but the virus has already established a foothold for itself in the countryside, with one particular village of Chogath reporting a staggering 90 COVID suspected deaths within just 3 weeks.

Mahrashtra

Althoug, the Maharashtra government has begun taking strict measures to fight the spread of coronavirus, it is seemingly not enough. Having spread in much of the urban concentration of Maharashtra, the virus is now carving a swathe through the rural areas, with the district of Amravati registering more cases in rural areas than urban. The city of Amravati has endured 500 deaths caused by coronavirus while the surrounding hinterlands reported around 520.

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