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I’m a (foreign) American citizen staying in India and happened to arrive here a few days before lockdown started. I don’t understand how this is a mystery: Indi

I’m a (foreign) American citizen staying in India and happened to arrive here a few days before lockdown started. I don’t understand how this is a mystery: India quickly locked down the entire country and going outdoors was consistently punishable by police hitting people with sticks (thankfully it seems like the brutality has eased up since the start and police are doing things like making people write sorry on the beach or do squats instead) People are taking the virus and situation seriously, without an unusual spike in fake news. You can’t even order anything outside a narrowly defined “essentials” category online. Thankfully food delivery is opened up. To all the Indians here who are in the same situation, phew, I understand your pain. Hopefully this next extension is the last one and then it’ll be more limited to hotspots: and we will all be able to order from amazon again soon. I also hope the economy can open quickly and smoothly when the time comes.

vbezhenar 7y ago
Did you see police beating people yourself? I have a suspicion that it was made just for camera to scare people.
- deadalus 7y ago
  ‘Beaten’ for stepping out for biscuits, UP teen dies 'Eyewitnesses said the cops beat Rizwan with batons and rifle butts' https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-lockdown-beaten-for-stepping-out-for-biscuits-uttar-pradesh-teen-dies/cid/1766154 https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-lockdown-be...
- chrismorgan 7y ago
  I have heard first-hand reports from people that saw a little of it. Police beating people with lathis happened in many places all across the country, where people were insisting on breaking curfew, until people got the message. It’s also not terribly uncommon for the police to use such measures, especially where curfews are involved. I see no reason to doubt that it has been happening.
- viklove 7y ago
  In India there's never a shortage of people (police or civilians) beating each other with sticks. Happened long before COVID and will continue long after.
  - sixstringtheory 7y ago
    One of the most eye-opening things I've ever seen was the crush of people trying to get on the general admission train car being beaten back with sticks before the train even stopped moving.
- wuunderbar 7y ago
  You could see several videos of it on major Indian news outlets. (With people in masks standing around.) Corporal punishment is still very much a thing in many parts of India, for better or for worse.
- sbmthakur 7y ago
  That did happen. A good number of people in India only take things seriously when there is some degree of harshness from the administration.
- GordonS 7y ago
  As a foreigner who has spent time working in India over several years, I've seen it happen multiple times. Each time I was with India colleagues, and nobody batted an eyelid. It seems to be pretty "normal".
CivBase 7y ago
A lockdown is not supposed to reduce the total number of cases; it is supposed to "flatten the curve" so those cases take a lot longer to develop. The intent is to drag the virus out for as long as possible so we can prepare our hospitals, develop more effective treatments, and get closer to a vaccine. A lockdown does not make the virus go away sooner; it prolongs it. According to the Johns Hopkins dashboard[0], India has peeked. Just like most other nations, India seems to have made it through the worst of it and is now on a downward trend. That is the mystery. The article makes a few suggestions. Maybe the virus hindered by the warmer climate. Maybe the strain in India is weaker than others. Maybe India's relatively young population is just more resilient. Unfortunately, we just don't know yet. [0] https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594...
- marcosdumay 7y ago
  Obviously a lockdown can cause the number of cases to go down. There's no mystery here. There are many countries doing the same. Yes, it is "supposed" to flatten the curve always keeping some manageable number of people infected. So if you reduce the number of cases any further you are doing it wrong; because no, you won't extinguish the virus, you'll only prolong the lockdown.
  - CivBase 7y ago
    > Obviously a lockdown can cause the number of cases to go down. Maybe I'm just ignorant, but could you explain how a lockdown is supposed to decrease the total number of cases rather than just prolong it? A lockdown does not make a population more resilient to a virus. It just reduces contagion vectors so it spreads more slowly. The virus still spreads, though. Eventually, enough of the population will catch the virus and build up a resistance to it so that herd immunity kicks in. At that point, enough people will have been exposed to the virus that it does not have enough people to spread to and simply dies out. I suppose the threshold for herd immunity is lower in a lockdown situation, but I am skeptical about it working to that extent. If my skepticism is misplaced and the lockdown really is that effective, then that also means India will have to stay on lockdown for a very long time to keep that herd immunity threshold low and completely starve the virus out.
downrightmike 7y ago
It only takes one person to turn it around: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/31-south-korea-sudden-spike-coronavirus-cases-200303065953841.html https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/31-south-korea-sudden...

vbezhenar 7y ago

Did you see police beating people yourself? I have a suspicion that it was made just for camera to scare people.

deadalus 7y ago
‘Beaten’ for stepping out for biscuits, UP teen dies 'Eyewitnesses said the cops beat Rizwan with batons and rifle butts' https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-lockdown-beaten-for-stepping-out-for-biscuits-uttar-pradesh-teen-dies/cid/1766154 https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-lockdown-be...
chrismorgan 7y ago
I have heard first-hand reports from people that saw a little of it. Police beating people with lathis happened in many places all across the country, where people were insisting on breaking curfew, until people got the message. It’s also not terribly uncommon for the police to use such measures, especially where curfews are involved. I see no reason to doubt that it has been happening.
viklove 7y ago
In India there's never a shortage of people (police or civilians) beating each other with sticks. Happened long before COVID and will continue long after.
- sixstringtheory 7y ago
  One of the most eye-opening things I've ever seen was the crush of people trying to get on the general admission train car being beaten back with sticks before the train even stopped moving.
wuunderbar 7y ago
You could see several videos of it on major Indian news outlets. (With people in masks standing around.) Corporal punishment is still very much a thing in many parts of India, for better or for worse.
sbmthakur 7y ago
That did happen. A good number of people in India only take things seriously when there is some degree of harshness from the administration.
GordonS 7y ago
As a foreigner who has spent time working in India over several years, I've seen it happen multiple times. Each time I was with India colleagues, and nobody batted an eyelid. It seems to be pretty "normal".

CivBase 7y ago

A lockdown is not supposed to reduce the total number of cases; it is supposed to "flatten the curve" so those cases take a lot longer to develop. The intent is to drag the virus out for as long as possible so we can prepare our hospitals, develop more effective treatments, and get closer to a vaccine. A lockdown does not make the virus go away sooner; it prolongs it. According to the Johns Hopkins dashboard[0], India has peeked. Just like most other nations, India seems to have made it through the worst of it and is now on a downward trend. That is the mystery. The article makes a few suggestions. Maybe the virus hindered by the warmer climate. Maybe the strain in India is weaker than others. Maybe India's relatively young population is just more resilient. Unfortunately, we just don't know yet. [0] https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594...

marcosdumay 7y ago
Obviously a lockdown can cause the number of cases to go down. There's no mystery here. There are many countries doing the same. Yes, it is "supposed" to flatten the curve always keeping some manageable number of people infected. So if you reduce the number of cases any further you are doing it wrong; because no, you won't extinguish the virus, you'll only prolong the lockdown.
- CivBase 7y ago
  > Obviously a lockdown can cause the number of cases to go down. Maybe I'm just ignorant, but could you explain how a lockdown is supposed to decrease the total number of cases rather than just prolong it? A lockdown does not make a population more resilient to a virus. It just reduces contagion vectors so it spreads more slowly. The virus still spreads, though. Eventually, enough of the population will catch the virus and build up a resistance to it so that herd immunity kicks in. At that point, enough people will have been exposed to the virus that it does not have enough people to spread to and simply dies out. I suppose the threshold for herd immunity is lower in a lockdown situation, but I am skeptical about it working to that extent. If my skepticism is misplaced and the lockdown really is that effective, then that also means India will have to stay on lockdown for a very long time to keep that herd immunity threshold low and completely starve the virus out.

downrightmike 7y ago

It only takes one person to turn it around: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/31-south-korea-sudden-spike-coronavirus-cases-200303065953841.html https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/31-south-korea-sudden...