Stories from the pandemic - John vakil
My wife and I travelled to Kerala in Sept 2020 during the Covid pandemic. We’d taken a ‘short stay’ pass that the Kerala government allows if you have work that cannot be deferred. Most people we met in Kerala agreed the government was doing a good job managing the pandemic. From tackling the humanitarian crisis of migrant workers to identifying infected cases, isolating them and tracing their contacts to ensuring food and medicine supply for quarantined people, the state is thought to have done well. What helps is that the populace is diligent about wearing masks, maintaining social distance and washing hands – a result of high levels of education and the slight paranoia common in Kerala on health matters. Of course things are not perfect. There are complaints about lapses in the process, lack of supplies, and petty corruption but that is inevitable in any large endeavour. But this story is about our neighbour in Kerala. Let’s call him John. John vakil (so called because he is an adv