In order to understand and quantify the early impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and the pandemic induced lockdown, the National Data Innovation Centre of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) conducted rapid assessments using phone surveys in both the urban and rural areas of Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). The objectives of the two rounds of Delhi NCR Coronavirus Telephone Survey (DCVTS) were to estimate the level and track changes over time in Coronavirus symptoms and preventive measures, attitude towards lockdown, and perception of severity and risk of the virus, current practices of preventive measures and their feasibility, with an emphasis on social distancing, and the impact of the pandemic and the lockdown on people’s livelihoods, income, social life, access to essential items, and the availability of coping mechanisms. The secondary objective of DCVTS was to explore differences in impact by socio-economic, demographic, and occupational groups.
The DCVTS team carried out Round 1 in early April shortly after the first lockdown started. Round 2 in late April gauged household reactions to a continuation of the first, stringent lockdown. The team fielded DCVTS-3 at a crucial moment in mid-June when restrictions were coming off (“Unlock 1.0”) starting June, but Coronavirus infections in the NCR were accelerating rapidly and the region’s healthcare infrastructure and testing facilities were coming under historically unprecedented stress.
These new findings from DCVTS-3 relate to:
ways in which the lockdowns have affected different occupational groups
household access to welfare measures during the lockdowns, including their coverage, targeting, delivery mechanisms and bottlenecks
difficulties after the lockdowns in getting back to work and remaining safe
trends in social distancing and risk perceptions as the lockdowns are eased.
DCVTS-3 surveyed the metropolitan areas of Delhi as well as rural areas in the NCR’s districts in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Reaching out to households from both the DCVTS-1 and 2 samples, DCVTS-3 covered a sample size that was almost double the prior round sample sizes to allow for much more disaggregated analysis.
