In early March, doctors in the Indian state of Kerala identified a patient with Covid-19 related symptoms. Kerala, known for its beaches and palm trees, is located on the Malabar Coast, more than 2,000 kilometres south of the capital New Delhi. into action. Doctors knew it was important to get to the source of the infection even before laboratory test confirmation. And they quickly figured that the patient's relatives had travelled from abroad.
Dozens of medical workers quickly tracked more than 3,000 people who might have come in contact with the family. They were asked to stay indoors. Twice a day, someone from the state’s health department called to check on their symptoms. Kerala’s preparedness and prompt action stands in stark contrast to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dillydallying response to the contagion as more and more cases were reported in other states in the following weeks. the deadly Nipah virus in 2018.
Covid-19 is far more viral and contagious than Nipah or other haemorrhagic fevers, which are deadly but quickly peak and have mostly remained confined to few towns, villages and cities. Yet, Kerala and African countries such as Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone can teach the world a lot about how to deal with infectious diseases - especially if they have jumped from the animal kingdom.