We need a pandemic - centric law !

The world had witnessed certain pandemic threats disrupting the flow of human life but none of these pandemics will be a match to disruption and damage caused by Covid19. No pandemic prior to Covid19 had such global impact and did not transmit from nation to nation at the magnitude of Covid19.

The Indian government has invoked several enactments to handle the impact of Covid19 on law enforcement, handling the economy, etc. For example, the Central government has invoked the provisions of Epidemic Act, 1897 and National Disaster Management Act, 2005 to fight with side effects of Covid19. Different States are invoking similar laws with situations arising therein as well.

However, application of these enactments has had limited impact and benefits; governments have been found falling short on coming up with adequate action plan to handle with Covid19 crisis as these laws are either outdated and / or designed to cope up with disasters of small magnitude.

For example, invoking of Section 144 to elude mass gatherings has made things worse as such action turned health/economic sensitive issue into a law and order problem. The application of these acts is aimed at confining people behind closed doors like in war times rather than addressing the core issue (prevention of spreading Covid19).

This situation has arisen in absence of a special law or protocol to deal with unforeseen pandemics like Covid19.

Lack of specific law in place to deal with any kind of pandemic has resulted in at times ad hoc and irrational decisions which has in turn caused insurmountable economic, physical and psychological damage to almost every section of Indian society.

A specific law to handle unforeseen pandemics would have enabled the central/state governments to handle the side effects of Covid19 in a much better way while ensuring minimal damage to citizens and economy.

The action of lockdown has resulted in tug of war amid police forces and local/migrant workers as a consequence any kind of public movement by general public beyond certain timings and places is treated as violation of law.

So many people from general public (especially migrant workers) got locked up in jail as criminals or confined to isolation chambers for attempting to go to their home place or for any other urgent life threatening purpose beyond permitted timings and places. Recently only, the Supreme Court has asked the State to withdraw such cases.

A specific pandemic centric law would have established a dedicated set of rules and plan of action to handle critical and sensitive issues in an effective way and avoid unnecessary conflict of interest and chaos amid government and general public.

Further such a special law would have clearly demarcated powers amid central, state and local authorities in times of crisis like Covid19 and it would have ensured much better administration and handling of critical and sensitive issues.

A special pandemic law may not completely eliminate impact of havoc created by crisis like Covid19 but such law would definitely reduce the magnitude of economic, social and health damage to a great deal.

World Health Organization had established International Health Regulations (IHR) in 2005 as a solution to mitigate the greater risks associated with such pandemics. The idea of IHR is to mandate all signatories to create and implement a dedicated law or protocol in place to be ready to deal with economic, social and health risks associated with outbreak of pandemics.

India is a signatory to IHR but it has not developed a unique pandemic law to deal with unforeseen pandemics. Almost all signatories of IHR have collectively failed to develop a effective pandemic law.

Covid19 has demonstrated that more or less, no country has developed a comprehensive pandemic law or protocol which will have real time application to mitigate challenges and risks born out of pandemics.

Covid19 may not be the last pandemic but unprecedented in its reach and impact so far – It is time for nations to learn from this crisis to develop a pandemic centric law and protocol to deal with dynamic and real time applicability rather than just a piece of paper.

In the absence of unique and dedicated pandemic law and protocol, India would again have to go through same sort of hardships experiencing in current days due to Covid19 on outbreak of any new pandemic in future.

Earlier, the government conceptualizes and comes up with something credible in this regard, history may repeat itself ! Ouch !!