Joykisan urges CSOs, jobless docs to join Covid fight
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 13 2021: Terming the Covid-19 pandemic as the most important war of present times, Thangmeiband MLA Kh Joykisan has called upon civil society organisations (CSOs), unemployed doctors and nurses to come forward and help the frontline workers (FLWs) fight the pandemic.

In a video recording released to the press on Thursday, Joykisan said that the detection of 600-plus cases and 17-20 fatalities in the past few days is alarming for a small state like Manipur.

"Saving the state is saving the people", he said and as such, appealed to the CSOs, unemployed doctors and nurses of the state to come forward and join in the fight against the pandemic.

It is possible some people could interpret this appeal as a political move because it was made by the opposition.

However, if the CSOs were to work in accordance to the guidance of the CMOs, it won't be long before the pandemic could be kept under control, he remarked.

Observing that there are many doctors and nurses in the state who have completed their studies but are yet to get employment, the MLA said that now is not the time to mop around over lack of jobs or good salary.

They should volunteer and aid in the efforts of the government as the sole purpose of their study in the end is to save human lives.

For now, concerted efforts are the only way to get ahead of this dreaded pandemic, he asserted.

He then urged political parties to stop blaming the government at every step, adding that it is possible the government could be facing financial and bureaucratic constraints.

Instead, we should try to extend our assistance wherever we can, he added.

Regarding the complaints by doctors about Covid patients' hesitancy in coming to hospitals in time and rushing to seek admission when the oxygen level is low, Joykisan also requested the doctors to ascertain the reason behind this hesitancy.

Many patients, despite knowing that they are sick, are faced with difficulty in availing an ambulance and sometime a hospital bed, he pointed out.

Highlighting the differences in the level of response during the first wave and the second wave on the part of the state government, the opposition MLA recounted that during the first wave, when someone tested positive, he/she was immediately picked up by an ambulance and the municipality workers were dispatched to sanitise the entire household.

These efforts not only helped reduce the rate of infections but also provided peace to the minds of the people.

"At present, if there is any positive case in a family, they are allowed to undergo home isolation regardless of whether the family has proper facilities for home isolation or not.

The number of members in the family is also not taken into account, which unfortunately increases the risk of infection, thereby increasing the number of positive cases", he observed.

Urging the state government to ensure adequate supply of oxygen in hospitals to allay the fear of the people, Joykisan further urged for stocking up the vaccine dosages, as this will raise the morale of the people.

"If the government were to make the same efforts it made during the first wave in the prevailing second wave as well, it will be able to curb the spread of the pandemic at a much faster rate", the MLA contended.

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