COVID-19: A Biological Disaster

21^st century is marred by the outbreak of various zoonotic diseases. Be it the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Ebola haemorrhagic fever, Nipah virus encephalitis, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Swine Flu (H1N1) or Bird Flu (H5N1). They have resulted in millions of fatalities around the globe. The new addition in this line is the new strain of coronavirus i.e. SARS-CoV2 which has resulted into COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic is notified as 'biological' disaster by the government of India. Hence it is important to understand the meaning of “biological disaster” and assess India’s preparedness with respect to handling of a “biological disaster”.

Means to Counter Biological disaster

As per the constitutional norm, health is a state subject. The primary responsibility of dealing with the state government. There are a number of legislations that control and govern the nation's health. Government can enforce these legislations to contain the spread of diseases. Some of the commonly used legal instruments are:

1. Epidemic Diseases Act of 1987
2. Environmental Protection Act 1986 and the rules (1986)
3. National Disaster Management Act 2005

Infrastructure at National Level

At national level various institutions which are responsible to deal with biological disaster are as follows:

1. National Disaster Management Authority
2. National Executive Committee
3. National Crisis Management Committee
4. Security Forces
5. Various Ministries and scientific Institutions
   • Ministry of Home Affairs
   • Ministry of Health and Family Affairs
   • National Centre of Communicable Diseases
   • National Institute of Epidemiology

Infrastructure at State Level

At State level various institutions which are responsible to deal with biological disaster are as follows:

• State Disaster Management Authority
• Various Labs, Medical Colleges and State Departments

Infrastructure at District Level

At District level various institutions which are responsible to deal with biological disaster are as follows:

• District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)
• Local disaster Management Committee

Non-governmental Organisations

Non-governmental organisations form an important role civil society. Mostly consisting of people who are socially aware and have lot of flair for public service, they try to supplement the effort of the government delivery system.

Though these NGOs are quite forthcoming for extending help to the government agencies during natural calamities, their help in case biological disaster is not guaranteed because of the fear factor associated with the emergencies. It is therefore important to have periodic liaison with such groups and train them so that they can act, as force multipliers towards government efforts of disaster mitigation.

Issues Pertaining to Management of Biological Disaster

Managing Biological Disasters could be tricky due to various issues acting as a constraint which includes:

• No separate policy for Biological Disasters
• Shortage of Medical and Paramedical Staff
• Limited Medical supplies
• Bio-safety Laboratories
• Inadequate R&D

Solutions

Following measures must be adopted to counter biological disaster better:

• Adopting Proper Approach like Prevention-Mitigation-Rehabilitation
• Dedicated National policy on Biological Disaster
• More Budgetary Allocation
• Ensuring Institutional CO-ordination

Conclusion

In terms of bio-defence preparedness, India has taken the basic precautions and has abs elementary structure in place. No only legal structures, India has also established a vast network of institutions from civil defence at the local bodies level to the military and para-military forces at the national level.

The problem in India's bio-defence mechanism is in terms of coordination between various agencies, lack of medical resources and proper action plan. This inadequate state of bio-defence preparedness needs to be overhauled on a war footing to deal with any future exigency because time and tide wait for none.