What if maids get infected from the middle class?

Sagarika Ghose thinks the middle class response to the coronavirus is irrational. "In Mumbai and Delhi, some residential complexes have barred entry of domestic workers and in Gurgaon, irrational conditions are being imposed on helpers, such as barring them from using lifts or touching lift buttons, sitting on benches or walking in parks." Human beings are known to suffer from irrational fears which, if leading to anxiety or panic attacks, are called phobias. When lockdown is imposed with such humiliating violence it does lead to fears that the virus is deadly. In fact, middle class people in India are dependent on domestic help and do not restrict their entry without valid reasons. And, old people living alone are most dependent on domestic help even though they are also the most vulnerable to the virus. Some people are fighting against resident welfare associations (RWAs) of their gated societies to be allowed to resume services of their maids. Families with young children would be especially fearful when they read about Kawasaki Disease and toxic shock syndrome. What about the reverse? What are the risks of a maid becoming infected if she enters an apartment where one or more are going out to work? "Of the 246 million households in Census 2011, about 103 million households average more than three people to a room," wrote Rangoli Agrawal. "As many as 74 million of these 103 million households occupy a single room, and the number of family members vary from three to above nine." If a maid gets infected she would pass it onto her entire family instantly. India is a brutal state. Those in home quarantine have a sign posted outside the homes by authorities, inviting abuse and rejection by neighbors. Ms Ghose relapses into her favorite Hindu bashing when she compares treatment of maids with untouchability. "The National Health Authority (NHA) has decided to cover Covid-19 treatment of the poorest of the poor in private hospitals under Ayushman Bharat -- the Central government's health insurance scheme for the deprived." The middle class will have to shell out tens of thousands of rupees that they may not be able to afford because, believe it or not, even those with managerial posts are losing their jobs. Going to government hospitals is not an option as you get treated "worse than animals", as the Supreme Court observed recently. The solution is for the government to support the urban poor like it supports the rural poor through the MGNREGA scheme. "As in the battle against Covid, in its battle against poverty, India has imitated foreign solutions that do not work here, and treated its own cultural instincts as inferior to Western ideas," wrote Manu Joseph. Especially lazy journalists with an axe to grind.