TWO STRATEGIES INDIA NEEDS TO IMPLEMENT TO MOVE OUT OF LOCKDOWN: RESEARCH SCIENTIST 

With more than 2 million people being infected and over 150,000 dead due to the coronavirus, internationally-acclaimed virologist Dr Ian Lipkin said that COVID-19 remains to be the biggest challenge the world has faced till now. 

Speaking exclusively with India Today, Dr Lipkin shared two strategies that India needs to implement to move out of the Covid-19 lockdown. He stressed on aggressive testing and isolation of clusters. Lipkin, who discussed on the much talked about movie 'Contagion', spoke where India stands and when will all this be over.

The virologist also compared how a country like Brazil where the pandemic is not being taken as seriously, while India has imposed a 40-day complete lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease. "One is informed by science, other by bravado. Science tells us that if you test and isolate you can contain this and limit your damage."

During his conversation with India Today, Dr Lipkin also urged global leaders to listen to scientists who are working on how to fight the pandemic. "I love India but the problem is that people are starting to push back against the government because they need food and to survive. We need to find a way so that people (especially those near the poverty line) can get back to normal living. And we need to control this till we have a vaccine," he said.

"There is no fixed date, you need to assess with epidemiologists whether or you have not flattened the curve. You need to galvanise the biotech industry to develop protective and testing equipment. If you consider testing on a wide scale then you can identify clusters and isolate only those and begin to move back the rest to normalcy," he added.

Finally, Dr Lipkin advised people not to attend any public events, sporting events, theatres and going to the movies now as the time is crucial. Social distancing is the key factor that needs to be followed.

Photo Credit: India Today