Page - 526 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE526 infected. Through appropriate and effective early actions, it success- fully slowed infections in the state, largely by promoting precaution- ary measures, and providing better protection for health staff well before the hugely disruptive and draconian lockdown imposed in India from late March. The Left Front-led Kerala state government invited religious leaders, local bodies, and civil society organizations to participate in policy design and implementation, considering its specific socio- economic conditions. It has communicated effectively in different lan- guages to educate all, and acted to prevent stigmatization of those infected, opposing the term “social distancing,” with its caste conno- tations, insisting on “physical distancing and social solidarity.” With Kerala’s long-standing achievements in education, highly educated Keralans tend to migrate to work out of state, if not abroad, seeking more lucrative employment. With the nationwide lockdown, non-residents, about 5% of Kerala’s population, have returned, caus- ing many new infections. The state has handled the migration issue well, especially compared to other state governments and the central government. To make things worse, Kerala has been discriminated against by the central government’s disaster relief fund on specious grounds. The largely agricultural state has modest fiscal resources of its own, as state governments in India have limited fiscal rights and resources. Hence, Kerala’s response, by a government with very limited fiscal resources, is especially instructive to others considering early precau- tionary action. Vietnam24 Vietnam, a poor, populous country with 97 million people, bordering China, has successfully kept down infections, with no deaths (as of May 7), by acting early to trace and test contacts, and to quarantine and treat the infected. Key features of Vietnam’s response are similar to those of other much-lauded East Asian responses, with infection rates significantly lower than even Taiwan’s. Vietnam has been much lauded as a low-cost COVID-19 success story to be emulated by poor countries with limited resources. 24. Anis Chowdhury & Jomo Kwame Sundaram, “Vietnam Winning New War Against Invisible Enemy”, Inter Press Service (14 April 2020), online: <https:// www.ipsnews.net/2020/04/vietnam-winning-new-war-invisible-enemy/>.