Unabated virus scourge
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: July 15, 2021 -

WHILE lack of testing facilities and dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in the early stages of the Covid-19 hampered the fight against the virus in the northeast, constant detection of large number of fresh cases and scores of patients dying every day in some states of the region, Manipur in particular, in the second wave indicate laid-back attitude of both the governments and the public.

For over a year, recklessness among the general population and intentional or circumstantial defiance of the safety protocols had been the trademark alibi for the authorities as and when the situation aggravated unmindful of the fact that events associated with the government such as the by-elections conducted last year or the recent series of high profile visits and project launch and inauguration functions too had been marked by disdaining of the standard operating procedures (SOP) framed by the government to contain the pandemic.

The event participants indeed made it a point to wear face masks in these gatherings but without adherence to the social distancing guidelines, which is the core of the SOPs.

Thus, in case the preventive measures are not applicable to both the decision makers and the subjects then it is obvious that there would be false sense of security and consequently prompt one to question the rationale of the government to continue framing and imposing restrictive measures even as the situation continues to worsen.

It needs no reminding that chalking up policies to check further spread of the pandemic should be followed up with stringent implementation at the ground level to yield the desired result.

For instance, Mumbai and New Delhi had been the hardest-hit cities in India during the first and second wave of the coronavirus but both managing to stabilise the situation within weeks speaks volume about the administrative expertise and firm resolve to tackle the pandemic.

In sharp contrast, Manipur has been facing the wrath of the second wave for nearly three months now thereby signifying failure of the containment measures in state.

That steps being taken up in Manipur and few other NE states have not been up to the mark could also be comprehended from none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing serious concern over the pandemic situation in the region during the virtual interaction with the chief ministers concerned on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister re-emphasising on the use of micro containment protocol in dealing with the situation and asking the CMs to make full use of the experience and best practices gathered over the last one-and-a-half years in this regard has laid bare the fact that regional governments, especially Manipur, have not been able to live up to the expectation of the Union government, not to mention of the people.

For months, government representatives have been accusing the public of aggravating the health crisis but the Prime Minister's remarks validate that criticising the commoners is not justifiable when the authorities cannot provide any evidence of stabilising the situation.

Rather, the government should candidly admit that the high number of daily cases and deaths along with the unprecedented pressure on the healthcare personnel and facilities reflect shortfalls in administration and planning.