Sending Manipur into a tizzy : Men and women in white
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 05 2020 -

Certainly sent Manipur into a tizzy and perhaps the first time since Manipur witnessed the first case of COVID-19 when a young girl tested positive for the virus way back on March 24.

The reason is not far to seek.

This is the first time that a person with no travel history has tested positive for the dreaded virus and not surprisingly the person is a nurse from Churachandpur.

Even before the full details of the nurse could be obtained, numerous probable stories started doing the round on the social media, with many raising the cry of community transmission etc.

Not that this can be ruled out, but jumping the gun and seemingly coming to a half baked conclusion betrays a mindset that is unable to sit back, think over the situation and then respond accordingly.

Much like what happened on March 24, many have raised false alarms, all in the name of sounding precautionary measures but ultimately such amateur reading of the situation can only add to the confusion and trigger more anxiety amongst the people who have been living under a state of lockdown since March 25.

The reasonable questions that can be raised are, why has a person with no travel history tested positive for the virus given the fact that positive cases have come only from those who returned to Manipur recently?

Did the nurse attend to any of the returnees who ultimately tested positive for the virus?

Are any family member of the nurse infected with the virus?

Is the hospital where she works associated with any of the many who have tested positive of the virus?

Was she stationed at the hospital itself or did she return home after duty daily and mix around with other family members?

These are some questions that may be raised and yes contact tracing should have started now.

First time in Manipur, but not the first time that health workers have been infected by the virus in other parts of the country.

Back in May there was a report that 548 doctors, nurses and paramedics across the country have been infected by the virus and it is only today that reports have come in of 19 doctors and 38 nurses testing positive for COVID-19 at AIIMS, New Delhi.

The cause of concern is understandable given the fact that the said nurse is the first person with no travel history to test positive in Manipur and it is this point which rings out the bell that much more need to be done to ensure the safety of those at the frontline fighting the virus.

The Government will need to do much more than the promised financial package for health workers who fall prey in the line of duty.

A cool but concerned approach is what is called for.

As stated above, start with raising certain basic questions to understand the situation.

The people too should not blindly jump to the conclusion that community transmission has started in Manipur, but this is a concern which all should work together to address and perhaps it would be right to first study whether there was any cluster transmission.

This is also the time for all to use social media carefully and not rush into anything blindly for wrong information has the knack of travelling fast, perhaps best exemplified by the baseless talks that concerned Bishnupur district.