With the alarming rise in the number of COVID-19 positive cases and new local transmission in Manipur, a new question arises “Are we prepare for the worst case scenario?”. A female doctor of JNIMS and an orderly of RIMS testing positive and the ever increasing number of new cases with each day is raising is alarming. Now a driver and his associate is reported to have been tested positive. Earlier, the new cases were all from the returnees returning to Manipur lodged at Quarantine centers. Now the scene is changing in Manipur, with the government acknowledging local transmission of the pandemic. Is the government not doing enough or we the people not being responsible, is a question worth pondering upon.
The day will not be far when there will be community transmission until and unless we are careful now. It will be disastrous if such a thing happens because our community is very close-knit and it will be difficult to contain or control the disease. Also the recent formal acknowledgment by World Health Organisation that “the Novel Coronavirus can remain in the air in crowded indoor spaces, where “short-range aerosol transmission… cannot be ruled out” is more of like a whole new game changer as compared to the earlier perception of the way COVID-19 is spread.
It can be mention that there was much panic among the people when the first-ever case was detected in Manipur. People went up to the extent of putting up barricades in their locality as a means to prevent others from entering their locality and not to mention, notices being put up in many individual gates advising others not to enter their respective abode. These acts may be due to the fear of the pandemic, although a rather silly one. So where has all these prevention gone into now? It is high time that we start getting responsible and careful about how we act. Or, has the people started to ignore the pandemic altogether and get on with their daily lives? No one knows. But it is evident from the number of commuters and traffic in the major roads of Manipur today that the people are no longer scared or skeptical of it as compared to when the first case was detected. The long way forward is to learn to live with COVID-19 by following all the protocols laid down by the competent authorities like wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and proper personal hygiene, as we would not be seeing a proper vaccine anytime sooner. Also, the government needs to harden its stance in fighting this virus, as it is going to stay with us for a long time and is not going away sooner.
