Unabated virus scare
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: July 28, 2021 -

IT'S a pity that at a time when there should be unrestrained celebration over the historic silver medal won by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the masses had to remain at home and relish her triumph in an unusually subdued manner with exception to a few hundreds who lined up along the airport road to shower their blessings on her.

Though postponement of the latest edition of the global games for a year underscores gravity of the situation due to outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, it could have been possible for the people of Manipur to welcome the champion weightlifter in the most befitting way had the public heeded the experts' advice on following Covid appropriate behaviour or the government managed the crisis situation efficiently.

After failing to manage even a clean lift at the Rio Games, Mirabai didn't lose heart and went on to create history at Tokyo thereby proving that with focus and resilience one could overcome all obstacles.

Her grit and determination to attain the goal once set is exactly what the government authorities and the public may learn and apply to win the critical battle against the contagion, which is threatening to unleash further havoc if allowed to persist.

When confronted with dire situation such as the present health crisis arising out of the second wave of the pandemic, which has been compounding miseries of the commoners and unmistakably taking a toll on the healthcare workers, the need of the hour is not only collective effort to minimise the inevitable adverse hardships but also for the policy makers to work out the most effective strategies for restoring normalcy at the earliest possible.

As proposed by the People's Task Force for COVID-19 (PTFC), the government should review the preventive and precautionary measures that have been put in place so far considering the rising numbers of positives cases in the state.

Unlike in the first wave that brought to the fore many kind-hearted individuals and civil society organisations to render humanitarian service to the people in distress in addition to many others contributing monetary assistance to the government to lend support in averting aggravation of the situation, the act of Samaritan in the second wave is limited to a handful of incumbent legislators and so-called social or political activists, all with the aim of enhancing their political profile.

Though genuinely social-minded individuals too have been extending help to people who are hardest hit by the on-going curfew lockdown, increasing number of people contracting the infectious disease and daily positivity rate showing no signs of receding make it crystal clear that the virus containment measures have not been up to the mark.

While locking up the people in their homes reflects helplessness of the government to take control of the situation, authorities concerned cannot ignore the fact that the 10-day curfew has seen spike in the number of cumulative cases, deaths and positivity rate.

As such, the state government needs to rope in the services of subject experts to work out the battle plan and stop the spread of the virus in addition to entertaining the views and suggestions of all the concerned stakeholders.

Along with initiating in-depth analysis to find out the reason behind high positivity and fatality rate in the state when many other mainland states have succeeded in overcoming their pandemic situation that were more critical than Manipur's, it is equally important that the government does not waste time anymore and ensures setting up of community Covid care centres in every assembly constituency for over-emphasis on home isolation of patients appears to be only abetting the crisis situation as could be comprehended from regular detection of multiple cases in several suburban and rural pockets.