Whether it is the country or the states, politicians seems to have lost the plot. Political parties in Meghalaya organised umpteen political rallies in the Garo Hills where thousands gathered without masks; forget social distancing. It was only after the elections were over that the political establishment suddenly woke up to the health emergency facing the state when Covid returned with a vengeance. For over two months, it was evident that the mutant strain of Covid 19 had entered the country and caution was called for at that point. But since politicians had to garner votes, all protocols were dispensed with. The number of active cases in Meghalaya is on the rise and about to touch the one thousand mark even as testing had dropped. It is logical to believe that if testing is ramped up then the number of Covid positive candidates would be much higher than shown.
The Director of Health Services has candidly stated that Meghalaya would not be able to handle 100 critical Covid cases at the same time since the healthcare system is not geared up for that kind of onrush. It is doubtful if NEIGRIHMS has the wherewithal to take on the task of managing Covid patients, mostly from Meghalaya since the Institute is admittedly facing funds crunch and manpower shortage. In recent times NEIGRIHMS has been treated quite shabbily by the Union Health Ministry and with Chief Ministers of the North Eastern states adopting a hands-off attitude this Institution will hit many roadblocks. Meghalaya Health Minister, AL Hek has urged NEIGRIHMS to make do with available resources but considering that Hek is on the Board of this Institution, is it not his duty to advocate for it in Delhi? After all, the system in India privileges some states over others depending on political affiliations.
And then we have ambiguities within the MDA Government. While the Health Minister admits that crowding at election rallies which draw huge crowds that are neither masked nor maintaining social distancing are what has resulted in the Covid spike, the Deputy Chief Minister of the state makes light of things and denies that such rallies have become super spreaders. Diversity of views are expected from people holding ideologically different positions but a lack of consensus within the MDA government on an issue as serious as Covid could hasten the crisis. A crisis demands that leaders are proactive and not merely reacting to situations. In a crisis, leaders do a scenario building exercise of the possibilities that can occur so that several plans are kept ready for implementation. Do we have that leadership in Meghalaya? At the moment the leadership vacuum is both visible and palpable.