Covid-19 threat reminder for robust healthcare system
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: December 28, 2022 -

IN view of the fresh spike in Covid-19 cases still confined to only a handful of countries, it could be a challenging task for the government authorities to convince the public for re-adhering to the same old safety guidelines for preventing another round of spread of the contagion in the state, especially as the people of Manipur are in a sense of emancipation after over two years of gloom.

However, for the government there is no choice other than adopting all possible precautionary measures as the state cannot afford to allow outbreak and spread of the infectious disease as any deterioration in the situation will have tremendous adverse effect on life and livelihood of all sections of the society.

Manipur having no direct international flight connectivity is indeed a blessing in disguise. With the state remaining free from the contagion for the second time since the past few days, there is no sign of panic among the public even though the situation in some countries, particularly in nearby Asian nations like China, Korea and Japan, is very alarming.

While everybody would be hoping that the situation remains as it is, the possibility of the contagion reaching the state cannot be ruled out in this era of globalisation and increasing number of people travelling to different parts of the world for different purposes and international airports in the country yet to put in place rigorous testing protocols other than random screening of incoming passengers to identify the infected ones for follow-up preventive steps.

Even though extensive examination of the international travellers is out of the context at this juncture, it is suggested that the government of Manipur keep an eye on arrival of passengers at the lone airport as well as through the few land routes and urge them to volunteer for Covid sample testing failing which the same situation experienced during the past two waves of the contagion might recur.

No doubt, the mock drills conducted across the state on Tuesday were aimed at readying the healthcare facilities and medical professionals to prevent another wave of the pandemic.

But successful prevention of another outbreak of the contagion will depend on whether or not the masses are enthusiastic to comply with the safety norms for spike in the number of fresh cases are said to be caused by a highly infectious sub-variant of Omicron.

In case the general population remains complacent regardless of being aware that the fresh outbreak has been overwhelming health infrastructure of medically and financially advanced countries then it is obvious that the government's endeavour for a robust healthcare system wouldn't make much a difference other than hoping to limit the number of Covid-related casualties.

Nevertheless, the government institutions and agencies should remain on high alert to prevent another round of the contagion. It is imperative for the authorities overseeing conduct of the mock drill to plug lapses, if any, observed during the preventive exercise so that the state remains fully prepared instead of shifting the blame on the public as had been the case during the two previous waves.