By Veroli Zhimo
On the threshold of a New Year, the global COVID-19 pandemic no longer seems alarming to many in Nagaland, as overall cases maintain a downward trajectory and the state prepares for a massive nation-wide vaccination programme. ‘Normal’ life has resumed in substantial measure: many public places have opened up and there is a scaling up of public gatherings, with many more being organised.
At the same time, critical activities such as on-campus education remain mostly suspended and many citizens, particularly the elderly and people with morbidities, are unable to access periodic health checks.
Nagaland state health authorities have pointed out evidence, on multiple occasions, that infections spreading in commercial centres and at workplaces. Therefore, there is a long way to go before people can really put the pandemic behind them.
The detection of the UK variant of the virus which has now been found in India further underscores the point that easing off on testing, tracing and containment could prove dangerous.
What is known of the new strain so far is that it is more transmissible than the original virus but there is no evidence yet that it causes a more intense illness or leads to a higher fatality rate. So the main cause of concern as of now is that the UK strain could reverse the downward trend in fresh cases if the affected people have transmitted the disease to others.
This could push up new cases requiring hospitalisation, stretching the health infrastructure all over again.
By all accounts, the vaccines that have been developed are not only effective, but safe with hardly any side effects.
Vaccines have already been launched in a number of countries while it could be a matter of only a few days before they arrive in India. In the meantime, both the government and the public must not let down their guard and squander away the gains of the last few months.
Relaxing the vigil now is bound to prove costly for us all.
