Pandemic, Infodemic and Peoples Resilience - Experience from India (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), commonly known as COVID-19 is causing widespread fear and stress. In India alone, there were more than 410,000 new cases and 4,000 deaths reported as of 6th May 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, everywhere, and created systemic inequities leaving no one behind. People from lower and middle socio-economic classes are among the worst affected, thus exacerbating populations into extreme poverty. In many Indian cities, hospital bed occupancy rates cross over 200%. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The critical shortages of beds, medical supplies, and equipment such as oxygen cylinders for patient care have led to a state of public health emergency and have led to a surge in patients being treated in ambulances and delivery vehicles. The dire snapshot of the COVID-19 crisis in India reflects underinvestment in both its healthcare and public health system. In addition, misinformation circulating in social media is driving panic at a pace and scale never imagined before. Nevertheless, the citizen groups and civil society in India contended this issue through the spirit of social solidarity and creativity by developing digital communications measures through social networking platforms to interconnect and overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Through this article, we propose the pivotal role of digital solutions and public participation to reestablish our society and describe how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can support eHealth initiatives, and mitigate infodemics.