COVID-19 threatened healthcare facilities worldwide. Globally the number of cases were rising at an alarming pace. Even in India, there was a surge in cases within a couple of days . To fight the pandemic with basic hygienic practices, access to water supplies and housing services must go hand in hand with other government initiatives. The government also attached a great importance to spreading awareness about the value of hand washing through Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on caller tunes, newspaper ads, etc. Continuous availability of safe drinking water is important not only for survival but also key to combating the pathogen. Availability of space was important for curve flattening at a time when social distancing is crucial. Researchers believe older people are more likely to get sick. It is a double-edged sword because living with family members offers a sense of protection but also produces an increased risk of infection.
Data from The Indian Express : Economic Bureau shows that only about 58.2 percent of rural households and about 80.7 percent of urban households have drinking water facilities within the household premises. This means that more than 40 percent of rural people need to leave their homes to get drinking water, which creates a risk of increased interactions.For the households in rural areas who have to go out to get water, 30% have a water source within 0.2 km and 3% have to travel more than 0.5 km. The farther people have to travel, the greater the chance of public interactions. In addition, 72 percent of rural households store water for just one day, and less than 3 percent of rural households store water for three or more days; making it necessary to leave the house to fetch water often. 60 percent of people in urban areas also store water for less than a day.
Only 48.6% of households have exclusive access to the primary source of drinking water, and 33% of households have access to town — more than 30% of which are unregulated public sources. The equivalent percentage of households in urban areas is slightly smaller, with approximately 19% of households providing a source of water outside the premises, within which 11% of households are using water from unrestricted community sources. This simply means that the remaining is not just a way of life for a large part of the rural population because of the difficult water quality conditions. The suggested protection against the danger of infection is daily 20 second hand washing. About 70 percent of rural households and 42 percent of urban households just wash their hands with water before a meal. Even after defecation, about 15 percent of rural households reported washing hands with water only. It is a significant cause of concern because hand washing with soap is essential for protecting yourself from infections.
In both urban and rural India, the shortage of water facilities and the need to use communal water sources and toilets will pose a challenge in the fight against a disease that currently has no cure and restricts the spread which depends on washing hands and holding social distance. Preventing infections through common sources of water and sanitation is practically impossible, one expert said, adding that the common facilities, particularly in urban slums, have no disinfection arrangements. Uncertainty regarding the quality or inadequacy of the water supply that existed before made hand hygiene much more difficult for those living in urban slums. There was a surge of an increase in cases in urban areas where vulnerable people live revealing the lines of fault that exist in India. Due to the fragmentation of areas with lockdown restrictions which render routes inaccessible and containment measures, access to water sources far away is not even possible now. Containment steps also mean that some people have to take longer routes to gather water, which also means women have an extra responsibility to collect water.
Group toilets and sanitation services pose a risk because this complicates social distancing and hygiene. In densely populated towns and slum pockets as in the case of Mumbai, the presence of overused and poorly maintained mega-community toilets is seen as the 'big explanation' for the city's Covid-19 case explosion. The problem is that rural India lacks enough water to start washing their hands throughout the day.
More than anything, it was the social fabric of India, age-old family structures; emotional bonding along with socio-economic factors that formed the key determinants of how the pandemic presented itself. It was a real learning curve. The harsh reality of inadequate access to water and lack of safety and detection facilities in rural areas came to the fore. These same households that do not have access to hand-washing facilities also do not have the luxury of maintaining physical distance due to the nature of their living conditions and occupations. Surely now there is a great secret shortage of water. It has not gained any coverage because people are passively dealing with the post-pandemic crisis. It is probably the disease's only silver lining that would potentially make hand hygiene a part of one's behavior. The transition and knowledge about it now are phenomenal compared with a few weeks earlier.
References:
- Economic Bureau. (2019, November 24). 58.2% Of rural, 80.7% of urban households have drinking water facilities within their homes.’ The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/business/58-2-of-rural-80-7-of-urban-households-have-drinking-water-facilities-within-their-homes-6134074/
- Laskar, A., Sonavane, R. N., & Upadhyay, J. P. (n.d.). Business News Today, Stock Market News, Sensex & Finance News. Retrieved from https://www.livemint.com/
- COVID-19: Challenges posed by availability of water and hygiene practices. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/covid-19-challenges-posed-by-availability-of-water-and-hygiene-practices-5099671.html
- Covid cases cross 200,000; rural clusters new challenge. (2020, June 03). Retrieved from https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/covid-cases-cross-200-000-rural-clusters-new-challenge/story-3EVw868CBX8xRdoIOdgXjJ.html
- Das, P. B. (2020, April 07). Washing hand helps stop COVID-19. But in India, water is scarce. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/hand-washing-can-combat-coronavirus-but-can-the-rural-poor-afford-frequent-rinses/