Psycho-social Challenges Encountered in Containing the COVID-19 Pandemic in India

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic created a great challenge throughout the world. During the ongoing pandemic, several key events occurred globally, that influenced the growth of COVID-19 cases. India, the second most populous country in the world, harbours 29,274,823 confirmed cases and 363,079 deaths by 11th June 2021.1 The increased number of COVID-19 cases in India is largely influenced by several socio-cultural and policy related issues. Understanding these issues may help India and other countries in control of COVID-19. Among the highly populated countries of the world, COVID-19 infected cases were relatively lower in India till the end of March 2020. Suddenly, there was an upsurge of new cases and deaths in the National capital of India, and the rapid spread of infection to several states of the country. The upsurge in the number of cases and deaths was attributed to a common cause. Despite the strict rule of the government to promote social distancing and prohibit mass gatherings, it was side-lined by groups of people with religious bias (extremist religious beliefs) as highlighted by the leading media houses of the country and abroad, leading to worldwide debate.2–4 The government of India has enforced the law to ensure prevention of the spread of COVID-19, by introducing lockdown.5 It is reported that there was non-cooperation by the religious group to the extent that required the interference of national security advisor and police force to escort the gathered mass to the hospital for evaluation. It is important to understand, what is important at this crucial moment of the global crisis; religious beliefs or national integrity. There may be various psychological models that explain violating behaviors during the phases of crisis.6 These models explain the cognitive biases and emotional reaction resulting in non-acceptance of large-scale legislation.