Reorientation of State Policies to Combat COVID-19: A Rapid Assessment
of an India State Exerting Social Control Measures
Pranaya swain
National Institute of Science Education and Research, HBNI, National Institute of Science Education and Research, HBNI
Corresponding Author:[email protected]
Author ProfileAbstract
The COVID-19 virus is highly contagious as it does not respect borders,
societies or communities. Even with most of the world in lockdown and
clinicians battling with support measures for those infected, the
governments are borrowing combat measures from each other despite scores
of uncertainties. However early or late stage a country is in as regards
to the virus spread, the governments are desperately trying to arrest
the crisis that is dynamic and ever evolving. As such there is very
little to claim about the success or lack of it, of any measure as a
preventive or curative one. With this at the backdrop, this paper
intends to provide a rapid assessment of reorientation of Government
policies and strategies to address the emergent health and non-health
issues associated therewith. With lots of limitations and within the
ever-changing scenario of COVID-19 calling for continuous changes in the
adopted measures, the paper documents key themes and policy changes that
the Government of an Indian State-Odisha, known widely for its track
record of disaster preparedness and management, has adopted in a
challenging and dynamic situation. It utilises known and select
Governmental and institutional sources to offer insights into some core
social, economic and political issues that social scientists and policy
researchers will be interested in investigating further in the days to
come.