Brief respite from virus scourge
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: August 02, 2021 -

WHILE it's inspiriting that the daily positivity rate has been showing steady decline since July 26, it would be foolhardy to conclude that the threat from the contagious disease is over.

Rather, the gradual improvement in the situation in terms of dip in the number of people contracting the infectious virus merits intensification of mass vaccination and testing drives, with special focus on the rural areas where compliance with or enforcement of the Covid appropriate behaviour has not been encouraging.

As pointed out by health services director Dr Rajo during a media briefing some days back, 73 per cent of the Covid-19 cases are being detected in rural pockets of Imphal West district and 79 per cent in Imphal East, thereby testifying that either the rural folks are naive about the importance of diligent adherence to the safety protocols or the law enforcement agencies are facing logistic issues.

Unlike those residing in urban areas, where deployment of security forces is optimum and movement on the streets is fraught with risk consequently forcing the people to stay indoors, it wouldn't be possible for the village folks to remain static as they have to tend to their fields regularly, among other activities.

On account of agricultural routines limited to specific seasons coupled with the government relaxing agricultural activities from the purview of the extended curfew, the only option left for the authorities is to impress upon the rural populace not to let their guard down.

Nevertheless, there should be no leniency against whoever is found defying the safety guidelines as the Delta variant of the viral infection has been unsparing.

Moreover, with health experts cautioning that the highly contagious Delta variant of coronavirus spreads as easily as chickenpox and appears to cause a more severe form of illness compared to other variants, onus is definitely on the government authorities to devise containment measures compatible enough to contain the mutant viruses before it is too late.

As per the findings of ongoing researches related to Covid-19, the Delta strain which was first identified in India last year is being described as 'a variant so contagious that it acts almost like a different novel virus' and it leaps from target to target more swiftly than even Ebola or the common cold.

With the Delta variant stated to make individuals who are vaccinated equally vulnerable to infection as the unvaccinated ones, the state government should review whether or not to persist with the home isolation policy.

With over 44 per cent of the Covid-19 patients opting for the comfort of home amid the state recording daily test positivity rate well above the national average, it could be safely stated that trusting the infected people to follow Covid appropriate behaviour has been the greatest blunder of the government vis-a-vis the containment measures.

Though it is always difficult to fight invisible adversaries, the emerging pandemic situation in the state calls for forgoing home isolation policy and reapplying the preventive measures adopted in thefirst wave when every single infected person was admitted to hospitals or accommodated in community and institutional quarantine facilities, if at all the government intends to make any gain from the slight improvement in the pandemic situation.