GS-4 · Case Studies Based on Individual Morality

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has quickly spread to various countries. As on May 8th, 2020, in India 56342 positive cases of corona had been reported. India with a population of more than 1.35 billion had difficulty in controlling the transmission of coronavirus among its population. Multiple strategies became necessary to handle this outbreak. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India raised awareness about this outbreak and took all necessary actions to control the spread of COVID-19. Indian Government implemented a 55-day lockdown throughout the country to reduce the transmission of the virus. Schools and colleges had shifted to an alternative mode of teaching-learning-evaluation and certification. Online mode became popular during these days. India was not prepared for a sudden onslaught of such a crisis due to limited infrastructure in terms of human resource, money and other healthcare resource facilities needed for taking care of this situation. This disease did not spare anybody irrespective of caste, creed, religion on the one hand and 'have and have nots' on the other. Deficiencies in hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, ambulances, hospital staff and crematorium were the most crucial aspects. You are a hospital administrator in a public hospital at the time when coronavirus had attacked a large number of people and patients were pouring into the hospital day in and day out. 1) What are your criteria and justification for putting your clinical and non-clinical staff to attend to the patients knowing fully well that it is a highly infectious disease and resources and infrastructure are limited? 2) If yours is a private hospital, whether your justification and decision would remain the same as that of a public hospital?