"We must look at the positive stories of COVID control. The public health approach to contain the disease through trace, test, isolate, quarantine and timely referral must be implemented on the ground effectively by the government, civil agencies, communities and all concerned stakeholders.

Young people must be involved in community participation for the containment of COVID-19. The heart of prevention is individual behaviour. We have to look at how we ensure positive behaviour that contains the spread of the virus.

Surveillance, containment and disease control should be the priority. Preparedness on part of hospitals for assured access to ambulance and care is also required. Home care should be reinforced and made more efficient by following prescribed protocols, along with safety of elderly and other people at home. We also need to protect the vulnerable population, people with co-morbidities and improve immunity through our time-tested traditional system of medicine.

This is a historical time for telemedicine, and we must promote it to keep the doctor-patient relationship and trust intact. Telemedicine will also help us in addressing the non-COVID patients, given the high burden of NCDs and other infectious diseases in the country." 

- Dr V K Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, New Delhi