We examine the effect of testing and social distancing measures on the severity of COVID19 across Indian states during the 68th day nationwide lockdown period. We also explore whether pre-existing socio-economic factors such as quality of health care and the ability to practice social distancing influences the effect of these policy measures across states. Using daily level data between April 1 and May 31 for 18 of the major states, we find that both testing and social distancing have a negative effect on COVID-19 fatalities in India. Further, testing is more helpful in reducing CFR for states with lower per capita health expenditure and weaker medical infrastructure. This highlights how ramping up testing can aid states that have a weak health care system through the detection of infection, contact tracing and isolation. In contrast, social distancing measures are more effective in states that are less populous and have lesser people dwelling in single-room houses. Our results confirm the role of pre-existing institutional factors in shaping the effect of policy actions on health outcomes.

中文翻译：

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检测和社交距离措施对印度 COVID-19 死亡的影响：先前存在的社会经济因素的作用


我们研究了第 68 天的全国封锁期间，测试和社交距离措施对印度各邦新冠病毒严重程度的影响。我们还探讨了现有的社会经济因素（例如医疗保健质量和保持社交距离的能力）是否会影响各州这些政策措施的效果。使用 4 月 1 日至 5 月 31 日期间 18 个主要邦的每日水平数据，我们发现测试和社交距离对印度的 COVID-19 死亡人数都有负面影响。此外，对于人均医疗支出较低和医疗基础设施薄弱的州来说，检测更有助于降低病死率。这凸显了加强检测如何通过感染检测、接触者追踪和隔离来帮助医疗保健系统薄弱的国家。相比之下，社会疏远措施在人口较少且居住在单间房屋中的人数较少的州更为有效。我们的结果证实了预先存在的制度因素在影响政策行动对健康结果的影响方面的作用。