Disturbing spread in MizoramTime to be on one’s toes

Hope the Government of Manipur has taken note of the disturbing spread of the virus in neighbouring Mizoram and accordingly take up the needed steps. With 18,398 the overall tally of infected persons is low, much lower than Manipur’s tally of 65,622 but what is worrying is the spread of the virus amongst children in the neighbouring State. The details are sketchy here at the office of The Sangai Express but reports gleaned from news agencies and publications, say that Mizoram reported more than 70 new cases amongst children on June 23. On June 22, 93 children reported positive for the virus there and earlier on June 19, the number was 80. The third wave is yet to land in the country and not all agree with the prognosis that children would be affected the most in the third wave, but whatever one’s position may be on this prognosis, the figures that have come from Mizoram is deeply disturbing. This is where Manipur cannot afford to be caught napping. Has the large scale infection amongst children in Mizoram caught the attention of the Government of India ? Has any genome sequencing study of the virus strain found at Mizoram been conducted ? Is the virus strain there the same as the one found here ? Only time can tell, but there is no reason why the Government here at Imphal should not take note of it. Given that there is frequent movement of people, between the two States, particularly from Churachandpur, the Government here would need to be on its toes. The figure of 70 children may not sound much, but view this in the backdrop of the fact that the 70 cases were detected out of a total of 419 cases and the reason for the cause of concern should be clear. How well prepared is Mizoram is a question which only the neighbouring State can answer, but Manipur would do well to be on its toes, for as repeatedly stated here, the virus knows no boundary. 
It is also most probable that children contract the virus from their elders, most notably family members and this is where it becomes all that more important for everyone to stick to the SOPs laid down by WHO, ICMR and enforced by the respective State Governments. Underlines the point that adults have immense responsibility to ensure the safety and security of their family members and sticking to the prescribed dos and don’ts should be seen as not only keeping oneself safe, but also ensuring the same for the family. The responsibility should be clear to all. Covid is not a case of just one individual being infected, but is also about the potential  of the infected person to spread the virus to others and family members are obviously the most vulnerable. The virus is mutating and any preventive steps taken up by the Government should take this fact into consideration. The challenge before mankind is complex and to successfully face the virus and its onslaught,  the first meaningful step is obviously to get vaccinated. The Government will also need to think to out of the box and think of ways to convince the hesitant section of people that they need to be vaccinated, not only for themselves but for their children too.