Preparing for post Covid era : The time is now!
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 06 2020 -

If at all there is something that can and should be learnt from the global pandemic then it should be the sense of responsibility.

And this sense of responsibility should go beyond the understanding of I to We.

It is a global pandemic and a laxity on the part of any individual could mean exposing the whole community to the virus and mark it, this will start from the individual to the family to the locality to the community and this is where it becomes the responsibility of everyone to take the fight to the virus.

It is not for nothing why the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have advised, rather laid down that everyone should wear a face mask while stepping out, for this means that the face mask not only protects the wearer from the virus but can also go a long way in trapping the droplet that one may release while sneezing, coughing or even while talking within the mask.

The same line of suggestion may also be read into the suggestion for everyone to maintain social distancing and keep away from socialising.

In a way protecting oneself and protecting others means shouldering a vital part of the collective responsibility and this is where the Covid experience may be said to be a sort of an education in itself.

A lesson which cannot be taught within the confines of a classroom or a school, but a practical lesson that everyone should learn.

Refusal to wear the mask correctly can then be taken to understand the level of irresponsibility of the individual concerned and in many ways the present pandemic should be taken as a learning experience by everyone concerned.

This is where the observation of the Manipuri Students’ Federation (MSF) that the present pandemic will go a long way in determining where the Manipuri society stands in the post Covid era gains credence.

Preparing for the post Covid era should then start from the realisation that how one conducts oneself during the current pandemic will go a long way in determining how society as a whole stands in the coming days.

Future pillars of society. This is how students are referred to and in preparing for a post Covid era or the new normal, MSF is bang on target in stating that attention should be paid on preparing the students to brace up for the future.

How well is the ground prepared for the students to realise their potential is the question that follows.

This is where elders and those who speak and act on behalf of the young students and society need to set an example.

And preparing young students should start on the premise of respecting the very institutions which are there to train and impart education to the young minds, which in this case would be schools.

The important question is how many actually respect the very institutions which are there to mould the young minds ?

The past should more than say how education institutions have been at the receiving end whenever any issue breaks out and this is one thing which need serious deliberation to set things right.

Manipur is also already reeling under the impact of Covid with nearly 20 thousand infected and nearly 200 dead so far and on top of this are the thousands of young men and women who have returned from different parts of the country, leaving their jobs.

How well placed is Manipur to absorb all the returnees and give them meaningful employment in the post Covid era is another question that merits the attention of everyone.

How about parents who feed and educate their children from their earning by driving school vans ?

How well Manipur copes with the post Covid era is a question which the Government should start working on now before it is too late.