IT is said that in a crisis everybody becomes a socialist; free markets take a back seat, to the benefit of the working people. During the Second World War for instance, when universal rationing was introduced in Britain, the average worker became better nourished than before. Likewise, private companies get commandeered to produce goods for the war effort, thus introducing de facto planning.

FOLLOWING the prime minister’s address to the nation on the evening of the March 24, the GOI strategy for dealing with the potential stage 2 to stage 3 transition of the covid-19 epidemic is now evident. They are hoping to break the transition by a full national curfew, curtailing mobility on a huge scale, in which the government itself is to shut down except for particular sectors.

ALTHOUGH there is no preventive vaccine or specific treatment at this time for the new coronavirus SARS COV-2, which causes COVID-19, the Cuban pharmaceutical industry is guaranteeing production of proven, high efficacy treatment medications, including recombinant human interferon alpha 2b, in addition to another group of drugs that are included in protocols for treating patients with this disease and the complications that may arise.

Amidst the battle against Covid-19 on the island, the Cuban government has decided to continue international medical collaboration joining efforts around the world to contain the epidemic

#CubaSalva has taken off as a hashtag on social media and is even used in popular conversation, beyond the Internet, to refer to our country’s position in the complex situation the world is experiencing with the exploding Covid-19 pandemic.

THE All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation (AIRTWF), wrote to Nitin Gadkari,  minister for road transport and highways, on March 21, appealing the government to supply essential commodities at free of cost to the poor and unorganised workers in the transport sector, in the background of the coronavirus disease pandemic.