By Hamehi & Niuma Syiem
We write this article because we are extremely pained that so many of our relatives, friends and neighbours are losing their precious lives in this miserable time of Covid, only because they are said to have comorbidities. There is no rule that people with underlying medical conditions should not be able to enjoy a life free from health risks and external threat; it is their fundamental right to life, and safeguarded by the Constitution. But somehow this Government of the day did not find wisdom in reactivating the mandatory requirement of institutional quarantine that was hugely successful in controlling the spread of the pandemic last year; instead the administration let its guard down and has exposed our communities to this deadly mutant variant by letting the asymptomatics roam carelessly. History will not be kind to the powers that be (there is just a handful of them, plus another handful who do their bidding) for collectively failing to keep a check on the number of deaths that are rising by the score every passing day.
Frankly we’re tired of watching unintelligent talking heads who make it their privilege to announce the daily statistics, yet do not care to delve further into how many RT-PCR tests have been duly conducted each day and in what clusters. Vaccination is today the accepted way to reduce casualties of mortality in positive cases, but increased gold standard RT-PCR testing is the only proven method of finding a way to put a check on rising number of positive cases. About two months ago, the number of new positive cases was in non-threatening double digits; what then happened that caused the numbers to explode to about 450 at the start of last month’s initial containment measure, and what are the Health authorities doing wrong that the numbers are fast nearing to beyond 1000 even after two weeks of total lockdown?
The time to act is now, and just because of feedback from a conglomerate of less than a dozen Shillong headmen who have rejected the idea of activating community quarantine centres, it doesn’t stop a committed Government from enforcing the full spirit of Section 2(1) of the Epidemic Diseases Act to “prevent the outbreak” by setting up additional institutional quarantine centres in order to isolate all positive cases both asymptomatic and mild to moderate cases, and ensuring necessary compliance strictly without any special concessions in the larger interests of the health of the community.
Getting to know the exact strain of virus that is prevalent today is most important to study the nature of its spread; use of digital data sharing technology to map clusters of rapid spread and generate analysis; setting up of decentralised 24×7 call centres to support the Incident Commanders in each Zone; converting each and every idle premises of School, College, Training Centre into quarantine centres; drastically reducing the burden on private hospitals whose bed occupancy are flooded with Covid patients; widespread publicity that the virus does not spread merely by droplets and with physical contact but is dangerously airborne in closed spaces in the form of aerosols; stepping up RT-PCR testing on a war footing in both reported clusters and random sites; opening up dedicated channels of support to respond to distress calls in these desperate times; and taking everyone on board from Opposition parties to NGOs and faith based institutions is the need of the hour.
Perhaps the only key brick in the wall that has not been discussed here is how the State will be able to finance such a concerted strategy of enormous scale. For that we are prepared to indulge in a rejoinder if and when the question crops up, because it is a serious matter of protecting our families and our loved ones; and this sentiment has been voiced by none other than the Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly in response to Government spending Rs 399 crore last year on measures to contain Covid and provide relief.
As we conclude our thoughts go back to our loved ones whose lives were cut short by this nasty pandemic. Their untimely deaths will not just be a number for statistics; their passing away matters so much more, to every heartbroken family and to us. So in honour of all those who have fallen, let us not wait for the third wave to come, we face to fight this war, with an intelligent concerted strategy, aggressively starting now.
“Frankly we’re tired of watching unintelligent talking heads who make it their privilege to announce the daily statistics, yet do not care to delve further into how many RT-PCR tests have been duly conducted each day and in what clusters. Vaccination is today the accepted way to reduce casualties of mortality in positive cases, but increased gold standard RT-PCR testing is the only proven method of finding a way to put a check on rising number of positive cases. ”