Life in the Time of a PANDEMIC

How Indians are dealing with the onset of a deadly viral outbreak

Malini Goyal

We have been here before. Almost.

A long time ago, in 1918, the Spanish Flu infected 500 million people and killed an estimated 10-50 million,
devastating the global economy.

A century later, the world was supposedly making massive progress and scientists focusing on higher order
problems — like blurring the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds. Armed with path-breaking
tools such as gene editing, AI and big data, human beings were learning to play god, creating designer
babies and disrupting death.

And then, coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the China-born microbe that inflicts infectious respiratory illness,
brings the world to its knees. The pandemic is still unravelling and it is too early to gauge its ultimate
human and economic impact. Already, an unprecedented global lockdown is underway. Schools, colleges,
malls, theatres and much more have been shut. Conferences and sports events such as IPL have been called
off. Countries are tightening borders and suspending visas en masse, leaving airports empty, flights
cancelled and many stranded in a world of globetrotters. With the world factory China as the epicentre, the
global manufacturing machinery is grinding to a halt. Remote working and social distancing are the new
buzzwords as workplaces struggle to carry on business.

The virus has been a great leveller, affecting people irrespective of their wealth and social status.

Amid jittery stock markets, the super-rich are reportedly jetting off to disaster bunkers to isolate and
protect themselves. Geographically, too, Covid-19 is spreading wildly. Over 120 countries — from
developed nations such as the US and Italy to developing ones such as India and Iran — are reeling from its
attack.

The virus could spread the economic contagion, far and deep. Early estimates from the UN Conference on
Trade and Development suggest it will knock off an estimated $1 trillion from the global economy in 2020.

Globally, 142,320 people are infected and 5,388 dead. Experts say the virus is at the early stages of its
journey in India. While the country took sweeping measures fairly early, high population density, risk of
intergenerational transfer in joint families and inadequate medical facilities are risk factors. The nation is
bracing for tough times. Whatever the trajectory, in a world where globalisation is anyway in retreat, expect
the pandemic to reshape the society, economy, politics and human behaviour in the long term.

As the contagion spreads, Indians are figuring out how best to deal with it. On the following pages, you will
read diverse experiences. A flight attendant wakes up to the flip side of an airline job. Anxious parents live
through a nightmare, worrying about their child’s potential exposure. A global sourcing manager describes
her life in quarantine, and an ENT specialist worries about his safety — these accounts capture the human
stories and fears behind the numbers.

PARENT

“Self-Quarantine at Home Drove Us Crazy”

Neevita Narayan, 46 audiologist & speech therapist, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

How a parent responded when she learnt that her 12-year-old daughter might have been at risk of
exposure to coronavirus

Our nightmare began on the night of March 2.

Our daughter, Aarna, was in the midst of exams. That day, she had given her penultimate exam. We got a
message from her school that their Lucknow trip was cancelled due to the coronavirus scare. It was the
third time in six months that they had postponed the trip. We thought the school was overreacting.

The next morning, all hell broke loose. We got to know the real reason for the cancellation of the school
trip. The first patient of Covid-19 in Delhi turned out to be the father of a child in Aarna’s class. Just a
couple of days ago, on February 28, the patient had hosted his kid’s birthday party where other children
were invited. Even on the day of the party, the father was symptomatic. His test results came on March 1
but his children had come to school the next day for the exam. This meant the chances of the contagion
spreading had surged.

On March 2, when I discovered all this, I was in deep panic. Within an hour, my phone was flooded with
messages. All the children who were present at the birthday party were being screened for infection. I
started asking Aarna about her friends and who all she had come in contact with to get some sense of her
exposure risk. Her best friend is a good friend of the Delhi patient’s child. So, my stress and anxiety grew.
Our TV was on all day for updates. I was reading every news related to coronavirus on the web.

The school principal was sending out hourly messages. The school was immediately shut and fumigated.
Meanwhile, all the kids present at the birthday party tested negative. I heaved a sigh of relief.

But the two days before that were madness. I was acting as if we had tested positive and had made
dramatic lifestyle changes. We isolated ourselves at home amid fear that we would spread the contagion.
We stopped stepping out and stocked up on face masks and sanitisers. I skipped going to my clinic and
immersed myself in the world of coronavirus, reading and watching every development. I stopped Aarna
from socialising or going for any class.

But self-quarantine had driven us crazy. The following weekend, feeling guilty, I took Aarna to the mall.
Swinging from one extreme like self-quarantining to the other like going to a mall, we struggled as parents
on how to maintain a sense of balance.

Finally, we realised that too much anxiety wasn’t doing us any good. We slowly normalised our schedule
while putting in place necessary precautions like avoiding crowded places, wearing masks when required,
washing hands and sanitising frequently. Earlier, we were casual about cleaning our dog’s paws after he
returned from his walk. No longer.

We have asked everyone around us to practise hygiene. We have installed liquid soap dispenser at the gate
itself so that anyone entering can wash their hands.

(As told to Malini Goyal)

BUSINESS HEAD

“Our Entire Business Will be at Risk if One of Us Gets Exposed”

K Sudarshan, 49 managing director, EMA Partners, Mumbai

At the time of Covid-19, travels plans are cancelled and meetings are called off. The impact on
business will be massive
I am grounded. I no longer have the freedom to move freely and I am rethinking all my travel plans. I was
planning to go to London later this month and I was hoping to combine it with a short trip to Zurich. Given
the situation, I would like to avoid travel hubs and, anyway, many countries are already in lockdown. A
family holiday in Goa in Marchend stands cancelled. Coronavirus has put uncertainty around everything in
my calendar.

Our company’s annual offsite in India next week has been postponed. Even before the government
cancelled most visas, we had asked our colleagues in Dubai and Singapore not to travel.

We are a small firm of 40 people. The issue of business continuity constantly weighs on my mind. Even if
one of us gets Covid-19, all of us will have to be quarantined for two weeks. Large firms have cushion, can
plan for contingencies and segregate teams to avoid the spread of contagion. For us, precaution is critical
as our entire business is at risk if one of us gets exposed. This, of course, has financial implications as well
— in cancelled hotels and flight bookings. Amid this madness, one saving grace is that we have realised
how valuable video tools are. In Singapore and Dubai, precautions are top priority. Except in emergency
situations, clients have stopped all face-to-face meetings. Everyone is playing safe. Video interviews and
virtual meetings have become common. In India, we haven’t reached that stage of paranoia yet. Last week,
however, we had a difficult experience. My Bengaluru colleagues travelled to Hyderabad for scheduled
meetings, but when they landed they found out that the client had cancelled all meetings due to virus
scare. The fear impacts at a personal level too. In April, I was due to travel to the US for three weeks of a
classroom course at Harvard. This would have required close interactions with classmates from all over. I
don’t think that’s happening. I have been advised to cancel the trip. Around me, people have stopped
meeting people.

The long-term impact will be huge. Businesses that thrive on proximity or contact — gyms, restaurants —
will be affected big time. If you extrapolate the impact it has on your personal lives, you will know the
massive impact it will have on businesses.

We were anyway living in uncertain times. Coronavirus has now added another layer of uncertainty.

(As told to Malini Goyal)

DOCTOR

“Now the First Thing I Ask Patients is Their Travel History”

Ashwini Kumar, 34 ENT specialist, Apollo Hospitals, Delhi

Doctors suspect every patient and monitor every symptom even as they try to keep themselves and
their family safe from the virus

I work at Apollo Hospitals in Delhi. I also have my own clinic. Altogether, I work 10-12 hours daily, seeing
30-40 patients and doing some charitable work at a gurdwara. My wife is also a doctor and works with the
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). We have a seven-year-old daughter.

Doctors need to be extra careful and we make efforts to first protect ourselves. As an ENT specialist, I need
to examine ears, nose and throat of my patients. I am always in close proximity with them. In the past, too,
doctors took precautions like using sanitisers but now we are more particular about them.

Since we can’t identify a Covid-19 patient without a test, we suspect every patient. The first thing we ask
them is their travel history. Bear in mind that this is also the time we get seasonal flu cases. If there is a
travel history from geographies where coronavirus risks are high, then we become more cautious. We note
down their phone numbers and watch if their symptoms settle down or not. We check if they have
breathing difficulties.

Recently, a patient came to me with a travel history that was worrying. I doubted if that person could be a
potential Covid-19 case. But thankfully, the person was fine after three-four days and I heaved a sigh of
relief.

One recent incident was scary although it wasn’t related to coronavirus. One of my patients had chicken
pox. After five days, my wife got it. That made me realise the risk my family is exposed to because of my
job.

These days when I go back home, I am extra careful. Earlier, I was a bit casual about changing my hospital
clothes — I would go sit on the sofa and watch TV. Now, as soon as I enter home, I keep my used clothes in
the laundry room, wash up and change before I settle down.

My parents, who stay with us, are paranoid. Every time they see coronavirus news, they get scared. Then
they will call and ask me to take care. Since they are not medical experts, their fears can at times be
irrational. But I can’t say that there is no fear.

We have also stopped eating out. We no longer eat non-vegetarian food or street food. My daughter’s
school has given instructions to students because of which she doesn’t want to eat anything from outside.
Family outings have dramatically come down as we have almost stopped going to malls, movies and
restaurants.

(As told to Malini Goyal)

FLIGHT ATTENDANT

“I Feel Scared but Working from Home is Not an Option for Me”

Simran, 22, Bengaluru

The fear has gripped everyone: while the crew is wearing masks, if not declining international routes,
the passengers are jittery

This is my first job — I have worked for just two and a half years as an air hostess. When the coronavirus
first made headlines in China, we felt safe in Bengaluru, thinking it had not hit India. Even internationally,
only the Chengdu sector was affected; Bangkok was not. Soon, our airline provided us with masks on
international routes.

The first sign of something being amiss was when crew members started refusing international flights.
Typically, these flights provide a 24-hour layover at the destination where it is usually great to party. Since
then, things have steadily become worse. Recently, we flew to Bangkok with 20-odd passengers in an
aircraft with 180 seats. Usually, the flight would be full. With the cancellation of international flights and
curbs on travel, tourism will be visibly affected. It will impact the world economy.

Since masks were allowed only on international flights, we requested our bosses to permit us to wear them
on domestic flights, too. In fact, many passengers were asking us why we weren’t wearing masks to protect
ourselves. Now, we are wearing masks on the domestic circuit as well.

In these worrying times, we encounter many tricky situations. I remember a recent one in the Mumbai-Delhi
sector. Two passengers had a fight in the flight. One of them overheard the other saying on the phone that
she suspected she had got coronavirus even as she was coughing. The woman who overheard the
conversation came to us and asked if we could offload her. But she didn’t want to come into the picture
and officially report what she had heard. We could not take any action, since we hadn’t heard anything
ourselves. So we declined her request. Soon, the two passengers started arguing and a big fight ensued.

These days, often, when somebody is coughing, fellow passengers request a seat change. But that’s not a
request we can satisfy if the flight is fully booked.

Recently, I had a difficult experience. We were flying from Delhi to Bengaluru and had a group of 15
business travellers who looked like they were from East Asia. I had to wake them up to serve corporate
meals and I was really nervous.

While flying, we take precautions like wearing masks and using hand sanitisers. Often, we feel scared and
unsafe. But I know that airlines are not going to shut down. This is my job. I need the salary at the end of
the month. And I don’t have an option to work from home.

(As told to Malini Goyal)

QUARANTINER

“My Symptoms Terrified Me. I Rushed to a Hospital from the Airport”

Komal Jagnani, 37 global sourcing manager of a Bengaluru-based company

How a business trip to China ended with a quarantine in a Bengaluru hospital. All was well only
when the report was negative

I work as a global sourcing manager for a company in the building materials industry. I travel to China quite
a bit — for work, for exhibitions, to meet vendors. On December 16, I travelled to China for what was
supposed to be a weeklong trip. Since the products were not ready, I ended up spending 24 days there. I
travelled in and around Foshan, which is the largest furniture market in the world, and I was travelling on
trains. When I developed a cough and fever during a trip to Amritsar after I came back to India, I became
very worried.

It might have been the cold weather or all the travel I did, but I began to develop breathing difficulties. I
was terrified. As soon as we landed in Bengaluru, my husband and I went to the Airports Authority of India.
Back then it was very new, so they directed me to a nearby private hospital. The doctor checked me, gave
me a mask upon hearing I had been to China and directed me to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest
Diseases, the only facility in Bengaluru where I could be tested for Covid-19.

I was not very sure about going to a government hospital, not knowing how things would be there, but I
wanted to get my tests done, so we went. When I got there, they quarantined me in a room and told me I
would not be able to leave because of a government order. The hospital did its best with the facilities they
had, checking my temperature twice a day, giving meals on time. Though it was supposed to be a
quarantine facility, the bathrooms were not great and the nonmedical staff did not have any protective gear
apart from a mask. Once when I asked for water, I saw an assistant fill the bottle from the bathroom. All of
us protested. Some wrote to the hospital director, asking if they could be transferred to a private hospital or
quarantined at home.

I got more worried when three people who had returned from Wuhan were admitted. My husband was
concerned that I would get the infection from one of them. When I finally got my results three days later, it
was negative, and I could go home. But I still had to quarantine myself at home and there were follow-up
calls to check how I was doing. For 10 days, I was careful and did not go out.
My family doesn’t want me to go back to China for work. But China has better infrastructure than most
Asian countries. They are capable of dealing with Covid-19. I intend to go back.

(As told to Indulekha Aravind)

BUSINESSPERSON

“Our Orders from China Are Delayed. We Will Source Locally”

Vijendra Rawat, 50 cofounder, Color My Brand Pvt Ltd, NCR

The shutdown due to coronavirus has impacted the business of corporate gifts, which were sourced
from China

For 14 years, we have been in the business of corporate gifts. We have 20-odd corporate customers, most
of them large MNCs. Often, we source our products from China. Since we import as per order and don’t do
the regular cash-and-carry trade, we aren’t much affected. But lately, we are facing challenges with delayed
deliveries from China.

When I get new orders these days, I wonder whether I should source locally or from China. As our orders
from China are getting delayed, we are trying to identify suppliers in India and source products locally now.
If I source the same product from India, it will work out to be slightly expensive. Or, I could explore
substitutes that can be sourced locally and are cheaper.

Recently, we had to source some cheering sticks for an MNC, which is an IPL sponsor (meanwhile, the IPL,
which was scheduled to start on March 29, has been deferred till April 15 due to coronavirus). Last time, the
sticks were made of plastic and sourced from China. This year, the MNC wanted non-plastic options that are
sustainable as well as environment-friendly. So, we developed samples of a paper clapper. While the sample
was developed in China, we are getting it made locally. We managed to get both better rate and quality.

It is true that necessity is the mother of invention. We have just placed orders for 50,000 clappers. Now we
are planning to pitch similar products to another client. So, we can see Make in India happening in a very
different way. The difference for us is that when we source from China, we have over 10 options to show
our clients. Local sourcing means limited options — maybe just four — for our MNC clients.

At a personal level, I have stopped going to crowded places — no more malls, movies and metro. I have
stopped eating out as well. When I go to the gym, I have my gloves on. And before I use any equipment
there, I ask the gym to have it cleaned first.

Let’s see what’s in store for all of us.

(As told to Malini Goyal)

WEDDING

“How Can We Have a Wedding When the Guests Can’t Come?”

Jyoti Asarpota, 55 retiree, Mumbai

The Asarpotas are at sea over their daughter’s wedding, originally set for May 1 in Thailand

Right after my daughter’s engagement in December, we had begun planning for the wedding, which we
had fixed for May 1. We had decided on Thailand because the children wanted to have a destination
wedding. By January, we had engaged a wedding planner, Foreign Wedding Planners, and by February, we
had decided on the resort, after going there for a recce.

By then, there was some news coming in about the coronavirus. Thankfully, Neha Mehrotra, our planner,
had got us a deal with the resort, which offered us free cancellation till March 15, if we were calling it off
because of the virus.

Even at that point, we thought of going ahead with the wedding. But because of the scare over the
coronavirus, our family members were not willing to travel. What’s the point of having a wedding if none of
the guests is coming?

We immediately looked for backup options. We began planning to have the wedding in Udaipur on the
same date, May 1. But with the government announcing new travel restrictions and Maharashtra in virtual
lockdown, even that looks uncertain.

The last few days have been very difficult. The children had set their hearts on having the wedding in
Thailand. We are very stressed and so is our wedding planner because it’s double the work for her. She had
planned everything for Thailand and now she has to do it all over again for India.

We still haven’t got the wedding cards made because of the scare of the coronavirus.

We had decided to go ahead with the wedding in Udaipur as people were comfortable with the idea of
having it in India. Now we really don’t know. If all our guests were in India, we could have managed, but
people will be coming from abroad as well. There is so much uncertainty now, we can’t do anything, except
wait and watch, and hope for the best.

(As told to Indulekha Aravind)

Neevita Narayan (right) with husband Madhavesh Kumar and daughter Aarna Karji
Bug Bites Business
The coronavirus outbreak might cost the global economy $1-2 trillion
in 2020, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
Its potential impact on the Indian economy is not yet known, but
several sectors are already feeling the pain
G Seetharaman

Aviation

Currency Shock Adds to Virus Turbulence

As part of its efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19, India on March 12 suspended almost all visas for a
month, adding to the woes of airlines. As of March 6, Indian private carriers had cancelled 93 international
flights and global airlines 492 flights, according to data shared by the government in the Lok Sabha. With
the number of Covid-19 cases in India increasing two and a half times over the past week to 84, travellers
might be hesitant to even fly within the country.

“There will be a further demand slump in the domestic segment, at least for the next few weeks,” says Kapil
Kaul, chief executive for aviation consultancy CAPA India. Indigo, India’s largest airline, has reported a 15-
20% decline in daily bookings over the past few days, compared with the week-ago period, and expects its
quarterly earnings to be “materially impacted”. Kaul says the impact of coronavirus on airlines will be
deeper than epidemics in the past. This crisis comes at a time when airlines are also being hit by a falling
rupee. Clearly, airlines have to navigate a lot of turbulence.

Hospitality

Waiters Wait for Customers

With several companies restricting all but essential travel, business hotels in major cities could be left with a
lot of empty rooms. Kapil Chopra, founder and CEO of Postcard Hotels & Resorts, says average occupancy
in these hotels could fall from 70-75% to 20%, if they haven’t already, even as demand in holiday
destinations continues to be strong.

As people become more cautious, restaurants have reported a decline of 30-35% in business in the past few
days. And restaurants at malls have recorded a sharper drop, says Anurag Katriar, president of the National
Restaurant Association of India. “Delivery segment is seeing the least impact.”

Multiplexes will also have to contend with a fall in demand. Delhi, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir have
ordered that cinemas be shut till March 31. Maharashtra has also ordered the closure of cinemas in some
cities, hurting multiplex chains like PVR Cinemas and Inox Leisure Limited. Movie producers globally and in
India have deferred the release of movies such as the latest James Bond franchise, No Time to Die, and
Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi.

Apparel

As Epicentre Shifts to Europe, Fear Socks Biz

Raja Shanmugam, an apparel manufacturer in Tirupur, India’s largest textile hub, is a worried man. “There is
a fear psychosis because of coronavirus. If this continues for 2-3 weeks, it could be really bad for us.”

India exported over ₹1 lakh crore of garments in 2018-19, according to the ministry of commerce. Exports
bring in 60% of Indian apparel makers’s revenues. Europe alone accounts for a third of India’s garment
exports. But with the region being declared the new epicentre for the disease by the World Health
Organization, new orders are bound to be affected. “But it is hard to assess the outcome now. We’ll know in
the next couple of weeks,” says Shanmugam, who also heads the Tirupur Exporters’ Association.

What is accentuating the apparel industry’s problems is the decline in footfalls at stores, both as a result of
people’s reluctance to visit them and the closure of malls.

Consumer Durables and Electronics

Black Days for White Goods

India’s consumer durables industry is heaving a sigh of relief as factories in China resume operations after
Covid-19 cases taper off in the country. But as India grapples with a rising incidence of the disease, visits to
stores might dwindle due to a fear of being exposed to the virus in public spaces, says Kamal Nandi,
president of the Consumer Electronics and Appliance Manufacturers Association. This would hurt demand.

India imports around 45% of its consumer durables from China, according to CRISIL. India also relies heavily
on China for components like compressors for air conditioners and open cell TV panels.

Similarly, mobile handset shipments to India are also likely to be hit by the supply disruption in China.
According to Counterpoint Research, there could be a 15% fall in mobile shipments in the January-March
quarter, from the corresponding period of 2019, and there could be a similar impact in the next three
months.

Poultry and Seafood

Unpalatable Reality

With the spread of the coronavirus, it was not surprising to see a spurt in unsubstantiated social media
messages on the dos and don’ts. Among these was a warning to stay away from meat, which has driven
down demand for chicken, the meat of choice for Indians, by around 30% in the past three weeks, says
industry sources. To prevent stock pileup, poultry companies have been forced to sell birds at ₹25 per kg, a
third of the raising cost, says B Soundararajan, chairman of poultry company Suguna Foods. Despite the
food safety regulator assuring people that the virus does not spread through poultry, it might take weeks
for the ₹80,000 crore chicken industry to bounce back.

As far as seafood is concerned, India’s worries are more on the export front. Seafood exports brought in
₹46,600 crore in 2018-19, with the US, European Union and China being the top markets, according to the
Marine Products Export Development Authority. Though the number of Covid-19 cases in China has been
on the decline, it is not clear if the US and Europe have seen the worst yet. Exporters say demand could be
hit.
WHAT SETS COVID-19 APART
NOVELTY FACTOR

It is a new virus, so a lot is not known about it. No one has developed immunity to it either

HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS

The virus appears to spread very easily, through tiny respiratory droplets, making it tough to contain

GLOBAL SPREAD

The epicentre Wuhan is a business hub. In a globalised, connected world, an infection spreads fast

FATALITY RATE

WHO estimates crude mortality ratio to be 3-4%, higher than for influenza
ASYMPTOMATIC

Several cases of infected people displaying no or very mild symptoms have made early detection and
containment difficult

Tech Navigates a Black Swan

The IT & BPO sector does not foresee a doomsday. It is using
collaborative tech tools to ensure business continuity
Shelley Singh

Coronavirus has presented a situation most geeks probably didn’t anticipate: what happens when even the
disaster recovery sites and business continuity plans are rendered useless. You can fly resources to
alternative locations. But how do you run a global business when flights are grounded and countries
regulate who can come in?

For the $190 billion IT services and BPO sector, Covid-19 poses the twin challenges of business continuity
and business growth. Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice-president, Nasscom, says, “You can’t shift people from,
say, Chennai to Delhi (like it happened during the Chennai floods in 2015) to keep a business functioning.
Besides, travel, hospitality and aviation verticals might see a dip in growth in IT spending as coronavirus has
directly impacted all three due to travel bans and grounding of flights.” This could lower the overall sector’s
growth by a few notches from the 7.5% estimated by Nasscom for 2019-20.

Infosys on Saturday evacuated one of its buildings in Bengaluru as a precautionary measure after one of its
employees came in contact with a suspected Covid-19 patient.

A challenge for IT services companies is that asking employees to work from home raises the risk of leak of
sensitive information and data thefts. Besides, the Department of Telecommunications’ rules don’t allow
office virtual private network to connect to home IT infrastructure. “We are asking DoT for a four-week
exemption to this rule,” adds Gupta. On March 14, the DoT relaxed this restriction for BPOs, KPOs and
medical transcription services alone till April 30.

The US market, which accounts for almost 65% of the business of Indian IT services companies, is better
cushioned to a large extent as the companies has hired more local staff. Gupta says, “There is enough staff
keeping the lights on. There is no doomsday scenario.”

An option is to use bots for more work, like software testing, though this course is not entirely risk-free
from virus attacks, of the virtual kind.

Even as risks mount, companies are educating employees, offering relevant information and keeping a
panel of doctors on standby. Harshvendra Soin, chief people officer, Tech Mahindra, says, “We have advised
employees to work from home if they have symptoms of Covid-19. We have also postponed all events that
require large gatherings.”

Multinational tech companies in India are also taking precautions and depending more on remote
collaboration tools. An employee of Dell India who returned from the US tested positive for Covid-19 and
has been quarantined. A Dell spokesperson says, “Team members who may have come in contact with the
employees are working remotely.” The company has increased the frequency of deep cleaning and
sanitisation at offices and has encouraged employees to work from home.
Microsoft has seen a 500% increase in usage of its collaboration platform Teams. It has also seen an
increase in the use of conferencing facilities and remote working systems among its employees in China
and elsewhere. Companies are also using Skype and Zoom, among other facilities, to work remotely.

“This is a time to test blended work environments, using physical and virtual collaboration tools,” says
Nasscom’s Gupta. “If Covid-19 persists, companies could depend more on such tools.”

Tech companies have their task cut out to remain on top of the game and safe from viruses — both online
and offline.
“There’s enough staff keeping the lights on. There’s no doomsday scenario, but sectors like travel, hospitality &
aviation might see a dip in IT spending”

Sangeeta Gupta, senior

VP, Nasscom

Delivering Despite Disruption

Online grocers and food delivery firms are teaching employees best
practices
Shelley Singh

Even in a sluggish economy, startups helped spawn the gig economy that created jobs and new ways of
working and sharing. However, the gig economy is seeing challenges because of the Covid-19 scare —
especially as delivery personnel are highly exposed to the environment.

In a “response note”, online grocer BigBasket said warehouse employees handling fruits and vegetables use
disposable masks and gloves. Workers are being scanned for any symptoms and offices have been
equipped with sanitisers and delivery staff with disposable gloves that are changed after every delivery.

Coworking spaces face a more daunting task as it has to monitor gig workers from multiple companies.
Smartworks has made masks and sanitisers available at its centres and is scanning people coming to its
sites with infrared thermometer. Neetish Sarda, founder, says, “We believe that collective responsibility will
make a great deal of difference in handling the situation.” It is encouraging virtual meetings as well as
collaboration tools.

Bengaluru-based Hiver, which offers an email collaboration platform, has seen an increase in interest for its
services, says cofounder & CEO Niraj Ranjan Rout.

Restaurant aggregator and food delivery company Zomato is using apps and SMS services to broadcast
WHO best practices on Covid-19 as well as information about testing labs’ locations to its partners. A
spokesperson says, “Our efforts are aimed at ensuring everyone is aware, calm and focussed on their well-
being.” Swiggy has made its employees aware of self-quarantine practices in case they show any symptoms.
It is training employees on “proper method and frequency of washing hands”. The gig economy has not
seen any layoffs yet, says Rituparna Chakraborty, executive vice-president of TeamLease Services, which
provides 2.30 lakh workers for client organisations. “Q4 is usually a damp period for hiring. So far no one
has lowered manpower projections for the next fiscal year. We do see higher demand for app-based
companies as more people stay at home and order more.”
However, if the virus persists, it could affect the sharing economy and the jobs of gig workers.

shelley.singh@timesgroup.com

Transmission Fears
The screening at international airports is confining passengers to long
queues alongside other travelers with varying probabilities of
exposure
Indulekha Arvind

When communications executive Tinu Cherian Abraham landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in
Bengaluru in the wee hours of March 11 from the US, via Frankfurt, he was greeted by a single long queue
of passengers, inching forward slowly.

What made him anxious was the amount of time he ended up spending in that queue, at close quarters
with other people, which he feels collectively increased all of their risk of exposure to an infection. “With
only one queue and officials orally asking passengers about their travel history, apart from the thermal
screening, I ended up spending much longer in the queue than I would normally,” says Abraham, who has
quarantined himself at home for two weeks, since he spent 24 hours in Frankfurt, on his way back.

With the number of countries affected by Covid-19 increasing exponentially, the Indian government issued
orders on March 3 to extend thermal screening to all passengers arriving at international airports, earlier
restricted to travellers from 12 countries. All passengers landing in India also have submit two self-
declaration forms with personal information and details of the countries they had travelled in the last two
weeks. This came in the wake of new cases in India detected among those who had recently travelled
abroad. So far, nearly 12.29 lakh passengers have been screened at Indian airports, according to the union
health ministry. But concerns remain about the risk for passengers once they land, considering they end up
standing in line for a while amidst a large number of people, all of whom are international travelers with
varying probability of exposure.

In response to a query from ET Magazine about the amount of time spent waiting, a spokesperson for
Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said: “…passengers arriving from international destinations are
likely to spend an additional 10-15 minutes due to the scanning requirement instituted by the state health
organisation.” But Abraham says he spent close to an hour. One way to reduce this risk, he suggests, could
be to have multiple queues for international passengers once they land, just like at immigration counters.

Airports say they are taking additional precautionary measures for both passengers and for staff. The BIAL
spokesperson says measures include keeping alcoholbased sanitisers at several locations and conducting
awareness campaigns among employees. A Delhi International Airport official told The Times of India last
week that hand sanitisers had been placed across the airport as well as posters with do’s and don’ts, apart
from providing staff with protective equipment.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic spreading, passenger traffic has been dropping
drastically at airports — up to 50% in the case of Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport, which
normally sees daily passenger traffic of 14,000-15,000. With visa and other travel curbs increasing, airports
are bracing for a further dip.

indulekha.aravind@timesgroup.com

A passenger being screened at Dibrugarh airport in Assam

“With only one queue and officials asking passengers about their travel history, apart from the thermal
screening, I ended up spending much longer in the queue”

Tinu Cherian

Abraham,

communications

executive, Bengaluru

Testing Times
Common cold and coronavirus have similar symptoms. This means
testing centres are overrun with patients
Prerna Katiyar

It’s 2 pm on March 12.

The queue of people getting themselves screened at the Coronavirus Screening Centre at New Delhi’s RML
Hospital is getting longer. While some are collecting selfdeclaration forms from the guard, others are
waiting for their turns to give their samples in the “restricted area”.

There’s a scramble to find the window where results are being dispatched from. All of these men and
women have covered their mouth & nose—using either a mask, a hand towel, a handkerchief or a piece of
cloth. Common cold, anxiety and fear of the unknown are other factors that bind them together. A woman
who came from Spain a few days back asks for a pen from a man sitting a little away to fill the self-
declaration form. “Keep it with you”, he says, as he hands over the pen.

Resident staff in all-white Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) comprising of gowns, masks, glasses, gloves
and shoe covers can be seen collecting the forms from a small window. Instructions are being given to
disinfect an ambulance stationed nearby. One over-worked staff can be heard mumbling: “Looks like half of
Delhi with common flu have come here to get themselves tested. It is better they stay indoors and self-
quarantine themselves.” But there are no takers for such advice and people who gave their samples earlier
have also turned up themselves to collect the report.

More than 600 people had approached the RML centre for screening as of Thursday, according to a
hospital staff involved with this exercise. People who have travelled overseas in the past week can give a
self declaration and get tested. “We have clear signage in the hospital and have made utmost efforts to
keep such patients away from others,” adds one of the hospital staff.
“Earlier, screening, admission and isolation facilities were all present at ward no. 5 but soon we separated
the facilities. Only those who are admitted or quarantined are being brought at ward no. 5,” informs one of
the resident doctors who is dealing with Coronavirus patients, speaking on the condition of anonymity. All
testing and treatment facilities are free of cost.

And how do these doctors handle anxieties related to the safety of their own family members? “As part of
the protocol, we do not take home anything we use in the ward to safeguard our families,” informs another
doctor on duty to handles Corona suspects. “It is our duty to take care of the patients but each one of us
also have a deeprooted fear that no one should carry the infection home where we have young children
and ageing parents.”

prerna.katiyar@timesgroup.com

Scenes outside the coronavirus screening centre at RML Hospital in New Delhi

screening to all passengers arriving at international airports, earlier restricted to travellers from 12 countries.
All passengers landing in India also have submit two self-declaration forms with personal information and
details of the countries they had travelled in the last two weeks. This came in the wake of new cases in India
detected among those who had recently travelled abroad. So far, nearly 12.29 lakh passengers have been
screened at Indian airports, according to the union health ministry. But concerns remain about the risk for
passengers once they land, considering they end up standing in line for a while amidst a large number of
people, all of whom are international travelers with varying probability of exposure.

In response to a query from ET Magazine about the amount of time spent waiting, a spokesperson for
Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said: “…passengers arriving from international destinations are
likely to spend an additional 10-15 minutes due to the scanning requirement instituted by the state health
organisation.” But Abraham says he spent close to an hour. One way to reduce this risk, he suggests, could
be to have multiple queues for international passengers once they land, just like at immigration counters.

Airports say they are taking additional precautionary measures for both passengers and for staff. The BIAL
spokesperson says measures include keeping alcoholbased sanitisers at several locations and conducting
awareness campaigns among employees. A Delhi International Airport official told The Times of India last
week that hand sanitisers had been placed across the airport as well as posters with do’s and don’ts, apart
from providing staff with protective equipment.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic spreading, passenger traffic has been dropping
drastically at airports — up to 50% in the case of Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport, which
normally sees daily passenger traffic of 14,000-15,000. With visa and other travel curbs increasing, airports
are bracing for a further dip.

indulekha.aravind@timesgroup.com

A passenger being screened at Dibrugarh airport in Assam

“With only one queue and officials asking passengers about their travel history, apart from the thermal
screening, I ended up spending much longer in the queue”

Tinu Cherian

Abraham,

communications

executive, Bengaluru
Testing Times
Common cold and coronavirus have similar symptoms. This means
testing centres are overrun with patients
Prerna Katiyar

It’s 2 pm on March 12.

The queue of people getting themselves screened at the Coronavirus Screening Centre at New Delhi’s RML
Hospital is getting longer. While some are collecting selfdeclaration forms from the guard, others are
waiting for their turns to give their samples in the “restricted area”.

There’s a scramble to find the window where results are being dispatched from. All of these men and
women have covered their mouth & nose—using either a mask, a hand towel, a handkerchief or a piece of
cloth. Common cold, anxiety and fear of the unknown are other factors that bind them together. A woman
who came from Spain a few days back asks for a pen from a man sitting a little away to fill the self-
declaration form. “Keep it with you”, he says, as he hands over the pen.

Resident staff in all-white Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) comprising of gowns, masks, glasses, gloves
and shoe covers can be seen collecting the forms from a small window. Instructions are being given to
disinfect an ambulance stationed nearby. One over-worked staff can be heard mumbling: “Looks like half of
Delhi with common flu have come here to get themselves tested. It is better they stay indoors and self-
quarantine themselves.” But there are no takers for such advice and people who gave their samples earlier
have also turned up themselves to collect the report.

More than 600 people had approached the RML centre for screening as of Thursday, according to a
hospital staff involved with this exercise. People who have travelled overseas in the past week can give a
self declaration and get tested. “We have clear signage in the hospital and have made utmost efforts to
keep such patients away from others,” adds one of the hospital staff.

“Earlier, screening, admission and isolation facilities were all present at ward no. 5 but soon we separated
the facilities. Only those who are admitted or quarantined are being brought at ward no. 5,” informs one of
the resident doctors who is dealing with Coronavirus patients, speaking on the condition of anonymity. All
testing and treatment facilities are free of cost.

And how do these doctors handle anxieties related to the safety of their own family members? “As part of
the protocol, we do not take home anything we use in the ward to safeguard our families,” informs another
doctor on duty to handles Corona suspects. “It is our duty to take care of the patients but each one of us
also have a deeprooted fear that no one should carry the infection home where we have young children
and ageing parents.”

prerna.katiyar@timesgroup.com
Scenes outside the coronavirus screening centre at RML Hospital in New Delhi

screening to all passengers arriving at international airports, earlier restricted to travellers from 12 countries.
All passengers landing in India also have submit two self-declaration forms with personal information and
details of the countries they had travelled in the last two weeks. This came in the wake of new cases in India
detected among those who had recently travelled abroad. So far, nearly 12.29 lakh passengers have been
screened at Indian airports, according to the union health ministry. But concerns remain about the risk for
passengers once they land, considering they end up standing in line for a while amidst a large number of
people, all of whom are international travelers with varying probability of exposure.

In response to a query from ET Magazine about the amount of time spent waiting, a spokesperson for
Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said: “…passengers arriving from international destinations are
likely to spend an additional 10-15 minutes due to the scanning requirement instituted by the state health
organisation.” But Abraham says he spent close to an hour. One way to reduce this risk, he suggests, could
be to have multiple queues for international passengers once they land, just like at immigration counters.

Airports say they are taking additional precautionary measures for both passengers and for staff. The BIAL
spokesperson says measures include keeping alcoholbased sanitisers at several locations and conducting
awareness campaigns among employees. A Delhi International Airport official told The Times of India last
week that hand sanitisers had been placed across the airport as well as posters with do’s and don’ts, apart
from providing staff with protective equipment.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic spreading, passenger traffic has been dropping
drastically at airports — up to 50% in the case of Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport, which
normally sees daily passenger traffic of 14,000-15,000. With visa and other travel curbs increasing, airports
are bracing for a further dip.

indulekha.aravind@timesgroup.com
A passenger being screened at Dibrugarh airport in Assam

“With only one queue and officials asking passengers about their travel history, apart from the thermal
screening, I ended up spending much longer in the queue”

Tinu Cherian

Abraham,

communications

executive, Bengaluru

Testing Times
Common cold and coronavirus have similar symptoms. This means
testing centres are overrun with patients
Prerna Katiyar

It’s 2 pm on March 12.

The queue of people getting themselves screened at the Coronavirus Screening Centre at New Delhi’s RML
Hospital is getting longer. While some are collecting selfdeclaration forms from the guard, others are
waiting for their turns to give their samples in the “restricted area”.

There’s a scramble to find the window where results are being dispatched from. All of these men and
women have covered their mouth & nose—using either a mask, a hand towel, a handkerchief or a piece of
cloth. Common cold, anxiety and fear of the unknown are other factors that bind them together. A woman
who came from Spain a few days back asks for a pen from a man sitting a little away to fill the self-
declaration form. “Keep it with you”, he says, as he hands over the pen.

Resident staff in all-white Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) comprising of gowns, masks, glasses, gloves
and shoe covers can be seen collecting the forms from a small window. Instructions are being given to
disinfect an ambulance stationed nearby. One over-worked staff can be heard mumbling: “Looks like half of
Delhi with common flu have come here to get themselves tested. It is better they stay indoors and self-
quarantine themselves.” But there are no takers for such advice and people who gave their samples earlier
have also turned up themselves to collect the report.

More than 600 people had approached the RML centre for screening as of Thursday, according to a
hospital staff involved with this exercise. People who have travelled overseas in the past week can give a
self declaration and get tested. “We have clear signage in the hospital and have made utmost efforts to
keep such patients away from others,” adds one of the hospital staff.

“Earlier, screening, admission and isolation facilities were all present at ward no. 5 but soon we separated
the facilities. Only those who are admitted or quarantined are being brought at ward no. 5,” informs one of
the resident doctors who is dealing with Coronavirus patients, speaking on the condition of anonymity. All
testing and treatment facilities are free of cost.

And how do these doctors handle anxieties related to the safety of their own family members? “As part of
the protocol, we do not take home anything we use in the ward to safeguard our families,” informs another
doctor on duty to handles Corona suspects. “It is our duty to take care of the patients but each one of us
also have a deeprooted fear that no one should carry the infection home where we have young children
and ageing parents.”

prerna.katiyar@timesgroup.com
Scenes outside the coronavirus screening centre at RML Hospital in New Delhi