The Eastern states where we work suffer 25% of India's natural disasters, which means that the crisis precautions were largely already in place. Existing cyclone shelters are being used to house migrant workers from other states during the coronavirus outbreak. In this area, the COVID-19 outbreak has been classified as a natural disaster and lockdown happened early. Foreigners have been put in home quarantine to stop the spread and drones are being used in some places to monitor movements within the streets. New cases are increasing rapidly with positive cases being reported from among the workers who recently returned from various states. This is worrying in that most returned by bus or train and thousands were arriving daily. Unemployment is now at a record high of 27.1% according to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE).
