The national Covid scenario in relation to specific cities, states and regions remains grim though the daily infection rates are coming down in the face of lockdowns and such extreme steps. Yet, a more worrisome trend is of the steady increase in fatalities while new challenges in the form of black fungus and even the more-deadly white fungus infections are surfacing. All these are straining the health care sector that has stretched its resources to the maximum for over a year. Their patience is wearing thin. It is time to morally equip the staff and extend them additional care and support.
The Covid-linked death numbers, which ran at the rate of over 4,000 a day for the past several days, has slipped narrowly by over 100 on Thursday. This is small consolation and hints at the long road ahead before the nation can rest or relax. As of now, six states are bearing the brunt – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The daily infection rate, as on Thursday, was of around 2,77,000, despite the lockdown in these states – set against the 4,14,000 daily infection cases on May 7, the largest daily tally for India so far.
Lockdown is easy. The hard part is to find the means and resources to inoculate the population at the earliest. The young lot is also drawn into the new phase of vaccination from May 1. On the ground, the rise in the fatality rate among the youths reinforces the need to expedite the process of vaccination. The Centre aims to procure 267 crore of C-vaccine doses by the end of this year, which should suffice to inoculate all of the adult population. This should reduce the present unbearable pressure on the health-care institutions. By the middle of 2022, the youths too could get vaccinated and chances are that we shall breathe easy in a year’s time from now.The struggle on the oxygen front is easing. And the issues of ventilators and ICU beds will need to be addressed with a great sense of urgency even as mobilization of resources will be difficult for the government on its own. The way forward is to involve the private sector to higher levels. Perceptions about Covid spread continue to change among the scientific community as is evident from the guideline issued by the Union Health Ministry on Thursday. It stated that smaller aerosol particles can be carried in the air to a distance of 10 metres. This should further raise our alert levels and diligence in observing Covid protocols of mask wearing at all times.
