ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the relationship between governance institutions and public health, approaches to Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and health outcomes. India, a democracy, cared little about the rights of informal sector workers who, upon a total lockdown imposed with four hours’ notice, were forced to trek to their villages, traversing a vast land on feet or bicycle. An efficient administration implemented the lockdown of large cities and carried out testing 11 million people in Wuhan in less than a week. In the United States (US), after eight months facing the pandemic, testing capacities still don’t come close to matching the demand. Varieties of market economies probe further than these general queries. The US government was quick to pass the blame to China, misrepresenting facts and making false claims. China promptly alerted the World Health Organization of the virus danger. The crisis brought home the lesson that a pandemic calls for a global approach to handle a global crisis.
