India’s poor at high risk of coronavirus
While experts stress the importance of basic hygiene to prevent coronavirus, this is difficult for India’s poor.
India’s poor are unable to afford crucial items like hand sanitisers to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
Around 160 million Indians do not have access to clean water. Health experts worldwide say basic handwashing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
But for India’s poor, this is difficult.
“We get water at specific times and we have to wait for that and fill water,” Dharam Singh Rajput, a railway worker said.“It’s dirty water, not clean. There are chances of getting more diseases than containing them.”
What could make matters worse, experts say, is that social distancing is nearly impossible in many Indian cities that are among the world’s most densely populated areas.
So far, India has confirmed at least 425 cases of COVID-19 and reported at least eight deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
This video, edited by Al Jazeera NewFeed’s Linh Nguyen, explores the challenges India’s poor face amid the global coronavirus pandemic.