22-OCTOBER-2020 | THE HINDU | Vocab

A crucial season: On festivals in the time of COVID-19

Public health messaging must convince(समझाने) people that festivals can be celebrated safely

Faced with a potential reversal of gains that India has made in slowing the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed against weakening the fight during the annual season of festivals. Over the past six months, numerous individual events have enabled the infection to explode(विस्फोट) and spread. These have ranged from the opening of wholesale markets and political gatherings to big funerals; many were infected when places of worship were allowed to be thronged(भीड़). Mr. Modi’s appeal, which comes during the Navratri celebrations, and ahead of Dussehra, Deepavali and other festivals, is to be welcomed, although the opportunity to caution the public was not grasped(समझा) early enough. Also, in spite of the call to “mask up” on October 8, as part of a communication campaign he launched, its visibility has remained low. Moreover, virus estimations remain a mosaic of data, without a standardised system for testing, tracing and isolation across States. Only broad-brush statistics are available, even as the economy has reopened. The Union Health Ministry’s data point to a rising trend in daily cases in Bihar, Delhi, Maharashtra, Manipur, and West Bengal, while Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, with their high levels of incidence earlier, have started showing a decline in test positivity rates, a more reliable metric than absolute cases. Kerala has experienced a wave blamed on lax(ढीला) behaviour during Onam.Health messaging on the dangers of another wave of infections can be effective if it is not drowned by repeated emphasis of massive recoveries. States, anxious(चिंतित) to present a picture of near-normality to boost economic activity, highlight recoveries over risk, and people are lowering their guard. Mr. Modi has suggested that the fight must not weaken until there is a vaccine, and experts and WHO want countries to learn to live with an endemic virus. In India, the reality is that even as of October 21, the official death toll in a day stood at 717, a not so inconsequential number, and there were 7.4 lakh active cases. The emphasis, therefore, has to be on preparing for the new normal, adopting acknowledged defences such as masking, distancing norms and hand hygiene. In parallel, the Centre should launch policy reform to transform a predominantly(मुख्य रूप से) commercialised health system into one providing universal coverage. COVID-19 has meant double jeopardy(ख़तरा) — a loss of income on the one hand and a steep rise in health insurance premiums on the other, after insurers were asked to provide cover for more conditions. Under such circumstances, the cheapest protection against disease and financial loss is prevention, now and into the future. The Centre says it has a communication strategy centred around the theme of safety until March next year. Its efficacy will be tested immediately, by the festival season.

1. public health (noun) – the branch of medicine handling public health; public health is also the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities through education, policy making and research for disease and injury prevention.
2. messaging (noun) – the process of sending a message or communication, especially electronically.
3. potential (adjective) – possible, likely, probable.
4. reversal (noun) – turnaround, (adverse) change, backtracking.
5. explode (verb) – increase suddenly, escalate, heighten, multiply.
6. gathering (noun) – assembly, meeting, convention.
7. funeral (noun) – burial (ceremony), cremation, laying to rest.
8. throng (verb) – crowd round, gather, assemble together.
9. grasp (verb) – take advantage of, seize/grab (the opportunity), act on.
10. in spite of (phrase) – despite, notwithstanding, regardless of.
11. call (noun) – demand, appeal, need, necessity.
12. mask up (phrasal verb) – to wear a mask or face covering.
13. visibility (noun) – clarity.
14. mosaic (noun) – mixed bag, mixture/patchwork, collection of diverse elements.
15. standardised (adjective) – systematized, regulated.
16. (contact) tracing (noun) – it is defined as the identification and followup of persons who may have come into contact with a person infected with the virus.
17. isolation (noun) – a complete separation from others of a person known or reasonably believed to be infected with communicable diseases.
18. broad-brush (adjective) – lacking in detail, incomplete, insufficient.
19. point to (verb) – indicate, suggest, denote.
20. incidence (noun) – it refers to the number of new cases that develop in a given period of time whereas  prevalence refers to the number of cases of a disease that are present in a particular population at a given time.
21. positivity rate (noun) – the proportion of positives to total tests done for a disease; the percentage of tests that are turning out to be positive for a disease.
22. metric (noun) – (statistical) data that measure results.
23. absolute (adjective) – total, complete, entire.
24. lax (adjective) – negligent, careless, heedless, unmindful, inattentive, casual.
25. drown (verb) – make inaudible, overpower, overwhelm, override, bury.
26. emphasis (noun) – prominence, importance, significance.
27. anxious (adjective) – worried, concerned, distressed, bothered.
28. picture (noun) – situation, condition, circumstances.
29. near-normality (noun) – a situation/condition in which everything is almost normal.
30. highlight (verb) – underline, underscore, emphasize, call attention to.
31. drop/lower one’s guard (phrase) – to become less careful, to become less vigilant, to become less alert.
32. vaccine (noun) – a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.
33. live with (phrasal verb) – accept, tolerate, endure (something unpleasant).
34. endemic (adjective) – (of a disease) prevalent in or restricted to a particular location.
35. toll (noun) – number, count, sum total (of deaths/casualties).
36. stand at (verb) – be at a particular level.
37. inconsequential (adjective) – insignificant, unimportant, inessential.
38. the new normal (phrase) – an earlier unusual situation that becomes a standard now.
39. acknowledged (adjective) – accepted, agreed (as legitimate).
40. defence (noun) – protection, shielding, safeguarding; security.
41. hygiene (noun) – cleanliness.
42. in parallel (phrase) – happening at the same time.
43. predominantly (adverb) – mainly, mostly, commonly.
44. commercialise (verb) – take advantage of something (an activity) to make a profit.
45. universal coverage (noun) – it means that all individuals and communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. (Courtesy: WHO)
46. jeopardy (noun) – peril, danger, risk/difficulty.
47. steep (adjective) – sharp, sudden, rapid.
48. insurer (noun) – an entity which provides insurance is known as an insurer or insurance company.
49. circumstances (noun) – situation, background, conditions, state of affairs.
50. centre around (verb) – focus on, concentrate on, be based on.
51. theme (noun) – idea, message, concept.
52. efficacy (noun) – effectiveness, efficiency, power/ability to give estimated results.

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Return of the socialists: On the victory of Evo Morales’s party in Bolivia

Following his win in Bolivia, Arce should learn from the successes and mistakes of Morales

Preliminary results of Sunday’s Presidential election in Bolivia point to an emphatic victory for the former President Evo Morales’s Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party almost a year after he was ousted by protesters and the military. While the official results will not be announced for days, exit polls and independent counts give his hand-picked candidate, Luis Arce 53% of the popular vote against his main rival Carlos Mesa’s 29.5%. Mr. Mesa, who was President between 2003 and 2005, has conceded the election. This is as much a victory for Mr. Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, as it is for Mr. Arce. Mr. Morales left the country, first for Mexico and then for Argentina, after the Generals asked him to stand down in November 2019. Since then, Jeanine Añez, a right-wing conservative Senator, has been the acting President, rolling back many of Mr. Morales’s policies and going after his supporters. But MAS mobilised its supporters and fought back. Mr. Arce promised voters that if elected, he would carry forward the pro-poor socialist legacy of Mr. Morales, while MAS portrayed Mr. Mesa as a representative of the pre-Morales elites, whose rapid privatisation and pro-market policies had triggered frequent mass protests. The results demonstrate that the voters chose the equity-oriented socialist stability, which MAS offered, over the free-market conservatism of its rivals.

The new leader could learn from the achievements and mistakes of Mr. Morales, credited with turning around South America’s poorest country economically. Under his government, Bolivia saw a drop in extreme poverty, from 33% of the population in 2006 to 15% in 2018. He also stepped up public investments, opened more schools and health clinics, built roads and nationalised the oil and gas industry, all while ensuring that the economy continued to expand. These policies helped MAS build a strong connect with the poor, a base which continued to back the party despite last year’s political turbulence. At the same time, his push to stay in power beyond the term limits set by the Constitution helped the Opposition organise itself. He got the ban lifted by a constitutional court after his bid failed in a referendum. This raised questions about the legitimacy of his candidacy in the October 2019 election, which he won but was accused of fraud, leading to protests and his ouster. Mr. Arce’s biggest challenge would be to continue Mr. Morales’s welfare policies, while keeping the battered economy on track. Moreover, the anti-Socialist and mostly white opposition is now more powerful, after ousting Mr. Morales and having run the interim government for a year with the U.S.’s support. Mr. Arce can keep the galvanised opposition at bay only by continuing MAS’s socio-economic “revolution” to expand its support base in a divided country.

conceded -स्वीकार किया

mobilised --जुटाए

referendum--जनमत संग्रह

battered--चकनाचूर