Guntur can prevent over 70% of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by closing the Red Light Area
- Study from Academicians from Yale School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School
The model shows that if the red light area starts operating, the disease will spread quickly in the red light area and infect a large percentage of sex workers and customers. The high transmission rate is because social distancing is not possible during sex. The infected customers would spread the disease throughout the city. Therefore, the red light area has a combination of factors that could make it the largest hotspot in Andhra Pradesh. The model shows that it can create the majority of the disease spread in the city through the peak of the epidemic.
Japan did not close down red light areas in-time and saw an “explosion” in cases because of a red light area that left local hospitals “overwhelmed”. India would need seventy percent more hospital beds by the peak if red light areas reopened instead of stayed closed. If the Chilakaluripet red light area is reopened it could push Guntur over peak medical capacity sooner. Fewer sick people would be able to receive treatment causing an increase in preventable deaths.
Prominent politicians in Germany called for brothels to close permanently and wrote letters to the premiers of all German states stating, "It should be obvious that prostitutes could become epidemiological 'super spreaders' — sexual activities are, as a rule, not compatible with social distancing measures”. The German lawmakers stated, “Re-opening the brothels will not help these women...Instead, they need apprenticeships, training or work in a secure job."
Speaking about the findings, Dr. Abhishek Pandey, Yale University, co-author of the study said, "Residents of red light areas including sex workers, pimps, and brothel managers are at higher risk of infection." Smarajit Jana, a doctor and chief advisor of West Bengal’s largest NGO working with sex workers, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), said “It would be of great danger if the sex workers are allowed to operate as soon as the lockdown is lifted. Due to their nature of work and the congested way in which they live, one single case can infect a hundred”. The model projects there can be hundreds of infections including many hospitalizations and deaths in the Chilakaluripet red light area if it is reopened.
Dr. Sahayakan, a member of Code Red Coalition, a global coalition of doctors and researchers that is advising governments on how to prevent COVID-19 spread said, “None of the protection measures like distancing, masks, or sanitizing can effectively stop COVID-19 transmission during sex work. Sex work cannot be safely practiced in red light areas in India given their nature. It can result in many cases and deaths in sex workers and citizens”.
Commenting on the report, co-author, Dr. Sudhakar Nuti, Harvard Medical School, said “While the Indian government has implemented smart and effective measures to flatten the curve, it is unlikely for the pandemic to be resolved until there is a vaccine for the population. It is therefore important that the Guntur red light area remains closed until a vaccine is developed and widely distributed to protect sex workers and the people of Andhra Pradesh.” Government restrictions on this part of the informal economy have not been outlined in COVID-19 directives, but a sex worker in Mumbai was quoted in a media story stating “There will be no business in Kamathipura for at least next two years. We can only return when there's a COVID-19 vaccine.”
The study recommends that sex workers need opportunities to gain skills that provide employment in lower-risk jobs. Recent media reports show that some sex workers have begun exploring other employment options. In Andhra Pradesh, a collective has asked for an exit strategy for sex workers including “transitional housing, bank loans, and alternate employment”. The efforts to close red light areas and help sex workers find lower risk jobs would save many lives in Guntur.