India coronavirus: The way these states handled the virus shows the country’s vast divide
CNNNew Delhi, India CNN — In January this year, Kerala became the first Indian state to report a coronavirus case. What Kerala did right At the center of Kerala’s response was woman who has been nicknamed “the coronavirus slayer.” In the second week of January – before the state, and by extension India, had reported its first coronavirus case – Kerala’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, KK Shailaja, noticed reports of a virus spreading in Wuhan, China. “No other Indian state did anything remotely comparable.” How Kerala compares Hundreds of miles north in the state of Maharashtra, health authorities haven’t seen the same success. Kerala’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, has a similar sentiment: “Til those who are undergoing treatment are fully cured and those under observation complete their quarantine period, we cannot let our guard down one bit.” India’s lockdown is set to lift later this month, and some experts expect cases to increase. Once the international travelers come back and the migrants come back and the local economy starts operating again, That is when the next wave will hit Kerala, and if they’re caught napping, it will look a lot like Mumbai.” In 2017, Indian workers around the world sent $69 billion back home – and 19% of those remittances went to Kerala, the highest proportion of any state, according to India’s Central Bank.