Need to minutely study figures : Disturbing statistics
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 18, 2021 -

The statistics tells its own worrying tale. Compared to bigger States, geographically as well as demographically, a cumulative caseload of 62,343 will not mean much, but keep the population strength of the place in mind and this becomes worrying.

The positivity rate per day has been above the 8 percent mark for the last many days taking the overall positivity rate to 7.41 percent.

This is way above the 5 percent positivity rate advised by the World Health Organisation to open up and this is where the Government would need to minutely study the situation before taking any decision on opening up after June 30.

Manipur is also right there at the top spot amongst the States logging the biggest daily net increase in active cases with 334 behind West Bengal (1106) but way above Tripura with 236.

This is directly related to the recovery rate which has been pegged at just a little over 80 percent in the last many days and which is way below the above 90 percent recovery rate recorded across the country.

These figures are worrying and the Government would need to more minutely and intensely study where and how its socks can be pulled up. First thing first. Today the term community transmission is no longer mentioned.

No report is given on how many of those found infected daily have had any recent travel history or not.

All indications that it is locally transmitted and Manipur may have entered the stage of community transmission which the Group of Doctors had spoken about so convincingly in the first wave of the pandemic.

This is the reality in Manipur today and this grim reality should not be lost on the people and the State Government either.

With fresh cases increasing in triple digits in the last many days, one can imagine the pressure of pulls and pushes that the different health centres must be subjected to and the biggest worry is, no one knows when situation may normalise.

Perhaps this normalisation may just come about when the positivity rate falls below the 5 percent mark as stipulated by WHO.

Vaccination then seems the only answer at the moment. The Government will also need to more minutely study why some or rather a lot of people are still hesitant in taking the vaccine jabs.

Let the elected representatives lead from the front and set examples. Let them show that they have also received the vaccines and perhaps this may go a long way in boosting the confidence of the people to step out and get themselves inoculated.

It is with a reason why the Centre has now done away with the clause that prior registration at CoWin is necessary to get the vaccine jabs for the 18 to 44 years of age category.

Likewise the State Government may also study avenues in which the people here may be encouraged and even goaded to come forward for the vaccinations.

As on June 16, 2021 a total of 4,77,432 people had reportedly received their vaccination shots.

This works out to only about 16 percent of the total population if one takes the population strength of Manipur at about 30 lakhs.

This is not impressive by any calculation and to make matters worse the COVID-19 Control Rooms has never deemed it necessary to spell out how many of the total are getting their first or second shot.