Need for greater aggression and sterner actions against COVID-19 pandemic
- Imphal Times Editorial :: May 29 2020 -

“Attack is the secret of defence; defence is the planning of an attack.” - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

It is often said that attack is the best form of defence.

“The best defense is a good offense” is an adage that has been applied to many fields of endeavor, including games and military combat but most importantly to everyday efforts which could make our lives that much more satisfying.

The present efforts towards combating the Covid-19 pandemic has evidently been focused on containment and harm reduction the world over.

To be fair, the scale of virulence and speed of transmission of the present pandemic caught the world unaware, and ever since have been eluding a cure despite the best and relentless efforts of the best minds and technologies.

It has been almost five months since the outbreak, and even without a specific line of accepted treatment, there has been incredible progress and promising developments in the search for an effective antidote, and hopefully one could be found sooner than later.

Even without a definite cure, experts have managed to study and understand a great deal about the virus and its characteristics- enough to formulae an effective defensive strategy which unfortunately a huge number of the public even in developed countries have so far failed to follow.

Meanwhile, the rate of transmission continues to grow in most countries across the world, and many are increasingly of the view that it is time to change strategy and adopt a more aggressive manner of combating the pandemic.

This new wave of thinking is gaining wide acceptance as it has been proven more times than not that early detection and effective isolation has so far proven to be almost effective in fighting the pandemic, but unfortunately this understanding has not been able to be put to practice as the volume of testing of suspected cases is still very low despite the assurance of the authorities including the Chief Minister of Manipur.

If the past is anything to go by in the state, these assurances and declarations will mean little until any concrete steps are taken up, as it has become an accepted practice for the government to equate assurances with actual accomplishments albeit without nothing much to show for it in terms of actual results.

These practices and mute acceptances have a lot to do with the public perception or rather the lack of it, and if this is to change, the public needs to be more proactive and vocal about issues that needs concrete implementation.

There also remains the immediate concern of dealing with those returnees flaunting institutional quarantine regulations which are unfortunately on the increase.

To sum up, the world and the state needs to adopt an aggressive approach towards fighting the present pandemic, and one of the most important aspect would be to sensitize the public in order to ensure their cooperation and support without which the best efforts of the authorities, even with the best of intents would prove to be an exercise in futility.

Which are unfortunately on the increase.

To sum up, the world and the state needs to adopt an aggressive approach towards fighting the present pandemic, and one of the most important aspect would be to sensitize the public in order to ensure their cooperation and support without which the best efforts of the authorities, even with the best of intents would prove to be an exercise in futility.