A network of physicians on Friday criticised the central government’s “lackadaisical” responses to the novel coronavirus threat and the absence of any pledges from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for financial help to the poor affected by the outbreak.

The Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum (PMSF), a non-government group of doctors, contrasted India’s responses with those by other coronavirus-affected countries. It called for “sound public health planning” and “marshalling of the country’s entire resources”.

Modi had in a televised speech to the nation on Thursday announced a “Janata (People’s) curfew” on March 22, urging people to stay home and calling it a test of self-discipline that he said was required to fight the virus.

The PMSF has in a media release underscored that a vast proportion of India’s workforce is employed in the unorganised sector and is likely to be affected by the outbreak.

“In order to enable the poor to remain indoors, the least the Prime Minister could have announced was provisioning of free rations for the poor... at least until the period over which the coronavirus surge is expected to peter out,” the PMSF said.

Multiple central and state government departments have over the past seven weeks helped enhance surveillance nationwide, bolstered diagnostic and treatment facilities in public hospitals, and evacuated hundreds of Indians from other countries in response to the coronavirus threat.

The PMSF said that while such efforts were “appreciable”, the country had not responded adequately to protect its vast population from the pandemic.

Although the World Health Organisation’s mantra on the coronavirus has been to “test, test and test”, the Indian government has still not expanded testing, the PMSF said, echoing concerns expressed by several medical experts.

The PMSF statement cited actions by other countries: Spain has ordered its private hospitals to be nationalised; France has directed its perfume makers to manufacture hand sanitisers and make them available for free; China’s largest electric-car maker has turned into the world’s biggest protective face mask producer; the US has signed a bill to enforce private companies to provide paid leave to employees.

“That such measures need not be the stuff of rhetoric has already been shown by many countries, including those of the developed world, provided there is political will to act on the side of the people,” the PMSF said.

“We call on the medical fraternity, civil society and people at large to put pressure on the government to make it do what it is supposed to.”

The PMSF had last month organised help for the victims of the communal violence in pockets of northeast Delhi. It had earlier helped the victims of Delhi police’s brutality on those protesting against India’s amended citizenship law.