95 more positive cases found at Wangoi AC : The three Ts
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 20 2020 -

Test, trace, treat. The three Ts which are the Biblical three words to keep the virus under check and flatten the curve.

The first and the last T will obviously be easier to stick to and it is the second T, the tracing part, that the State Government should focus on.

How successful has the Government been in tracing known contacts of infected persons, not to talk about non-contacts, but who nonetheless may be carrying the virus?

There will be no easy answer here, and it wouldn't be surprising if the Government is not in a position to give an account of how many contacts they have been able to establish from an infected person.

This however should not mean that things can be taken lightly, for the worst may yet be to come.

It also stands that calls to all to maintain physical or social distancing were clobbered for a big six, best exemplified by the recent by elections in five Assembly Constituencies and during the frenetic shopping for Ningol Chakkouba and during the Diwali festival.

And as things stand right now, already 95 people have tested positive at Wangoi Assembly Constituency during the special drive conducted by the Health Department and Imphal West district administration on November 18.

The only good thing that can be noted, despite the detection of 95 cases, is the special drive that has been conducted and this is along the line of the three Ts which have already been spelt out here.

More such cases will emerge in the coming days, as such drives are expected to be conducted in more parts of Wangoi Assembly Constituency and in the other four Assembly Constituencies where by elections were held.

Containment zone tag is a distinct likelihood for Wangoi AC, much like what happened in some parts of Thangmeiband some time back.

This is where everyone will need to pause and think why the SOPs were violated so blatantly in the run up to the by elections.

A little more thought, a little more concern on the heavy toll the virus has extracted from the people could have gone some way in blunting the impact of the virus on the people.

Remember the days of lockdown in the face of the threat from the coronavirus and if the earlier restrictions were to be flouted so non-chalantly in the by elections, then what was the point of the days of lockdowns is a question that may well be raised by everyone.

Ironic it is but the same set of people who so flagrantly violated the SOPs in the run up to the by elections will not be ready to send their children to school as the threat from the virus still refuses to go away.

Add the manner in which SOPs were again flouted so carelessly in the run up to Ningol Chakkouba and one can expect to see more positive cases in the coming days.

What makes this possibility all that more disturbing is the fact that while compulsory testing in the places where by polls were conducted may not be such a tough proposition, how does one work out who all the people were who came out shopping in hordes for Ningol Chakkouba?

Tracing them down is what will be almost impossible and this is where the real danger lies before everyone.