Lelen Singsit
Dimapur
In the present pandemic over coronavirus, the need and shortage of medical equipments have been highlighted by many news agencies. One such important equipment is the medical ventilators.
Ventilators help patients breathe when they can't perform that function on their own. In extreme cases, a COVID-19 patient has breathing difficulties and ventilators are needed to breathe properly and save the patient.
Few days ago, the Governor of New York said that the state currently have 6000 medical ventilators but they need 30,000. It means New York currently has 1 ventilator for 1433 people.
But in Nagaland, we don't know how many ventilators we have. According to reports on the news, Dimapur has 30 isolation beds for potential COVID-19 patients across three hospitals. Assuming all 30 beds has ventilators, it means our State has 1 ventilator for 10,666 people. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that all the 30 isolation beds prepared by the administration has ventilators.
According to another news, one single hospital in Italy had 800 beds with ventilators. But 1000 patients were admitted for COVID-19. But as per the news, our Civil Hospital in Dimapur do not even have a single ICU facility. When the people thought that they would go to the expensive private hospitals in case of emergency, hospitals like Zion Hospital in Dimapur has notified that they are closing Out Patient Department due to scare over COVID-19! Even our popular hospitals are helpless over COVID-19.
Another area of great disappointment and concern is the lack of testing facility for COVID-19 in the state! It is hoped that the policy makers will arrange testing facilities in the state at the earliest. Without a test, everything seem guess work and the public are in unending suspense.
It appears that if COVID-19 reach or spread in Nagaland, the casualty will be very high. Beside lack of medical facilities, one reason why COVID-19 will be dangerous in Nagaland is because of poverty. Quarantine or self-isolation is almost impossible here because majority of us share 1-2 rooms and we have common kitchens and bathrooms. If one family member gets COVID-19, almost all will get it too.
COVID-19 cases can be high in Nagaland also because most of us don't think bad things will happen to us until it's too late. We also have a culture of spitting left and right. This is also because we have less or no dustbins in our markets and towns, and no adequate toilets etc which are cleaned at regular intervals.
As such, the responsible officers needs to fast track their preparedness. It is learned that 100 ventilators are on the way. But 100 ventilators for 12 districts appear to be very less for a pandemic.
Besides our medical preparedness, it will be helpful if the state administration study our wildlife food habits. As the joke goes, we eat anything that moves that is not poisonous. Snakes, porcupines, rats, dogs, deer etc are all sold and eaten albeit secretly. Some of our wet markets are filled with many animals, insects and worms. What can happen in China can also happen in our state. Proper study, guidelines and enforcement is needed so that a new virus does not originate in Nagaland.
Also an overwhelming majority of the people do not read newspapers or watch the news. The level of ignorance and superstition, couple with unhygienic behavior is rampant. More than the virus, it is stupidity and ignorance that is likely to cause more damage. Inside the colonies, some people are roaming and visiting friends as usual. As such , police or volunteer force within the localities to stop meaningless roaming by the people must be enforced.
Last but not the least, it is hoped that the local level leaders like traders, GBs, VDBs, NGOs and church leaders will be made active part and parcel of solving the crisis; they have high influence in changing the mindset and daily habits of the people. Unfortunately, some leaders are seeing the lockdowns as something others are forcing them to follow against their will. What good are the big and good advisories from the top if the masses don't know or follow them? A stubborn or ignorant person can spoil all the sacrifices of the community. Since it is a question of life and death for most people, it is hoped that the state government will effectively enforced the orders it has issued.
