Spike in daily new cases Disturbing statistics

    05-Jul-2022
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It was a lull, just a lull, nothing more, nothing less. This is the line that The Sangai Express has been maintaining for long, even before the second wave hit the place and the people with such devastating impact. And for once, it would have been nice and so much better if only the line that The Sangai Express has been maintaining was proved wrong. However reality says that this is not going to be the case. Not exactly the fourth wave or whatever one may call it, but the increase in the daily rate of infection is cause for concern. After more than two months or close to three months, Manipur recorded 16 new cases in a span of 24 hours and with a population of just about 30 lakh or so this is worrying. This is all that more so since for the last two/three months, the daily infection rate was in single digit and there was a time when Manipur had become Covid free. This was but just a blip on the radar for today Manipur has 43 active cases, as on July 3 and certainly the State may see more double digit spike in 24 hours in the next couple of days. Now 16 new cases in 24 hours does not look a big figure but the daily positivity rate of 12.4 percent is what is more worrying. Figures don’t lie and the cold statistics say that from June 30 till July 3, Imphal West district alone accounted for 22 of the new cases which till July 3 stand at 43. This works out to 59.45 percent and while the cold statistics may not tell the whole story, it would do good for everyone to remember that Imphal West is the heart and soul of Manipur, where the important Government offices are located and so too the commercial centres. The point is, if the nerve centre of Manipur has become a sort of a hotspot of the new infections, it will not take long for the virus to spread to the other districts as well. This is the untold but highly probable story in the high incidence of new cases in Imphal West. Taking cognizance of the steady spike in new cases, Chief Minister N Biren is understood to have convened an emergency meeting to discuss the new development and one hopes that some proactive course of action is adopted soon, that is before the daily new cases in 24 hours touch the three figure mark.
Certain points need to be acknowledged to take the fight to the virus. No one knows  how the virus behaves and no one knows whether it will mutate further. What however is clear is that vaccination certainly goes a long way in neutralising the lethality of the virus and this is where people need to stake a step back, think hard and digest the point that it is their responsibility to ensure that they are vaccinated against the virus. The fact that only 53.20 percent of the eligible population have been fully vaccinated tells a worrying tale. This at a time when the world has gone in for booster shots, that is one more jab after the two dose vaccination shots. In India it is christened Precautionary Shots and it would be advisable for those who have received the full dose to go in the booster shots if and when they are eligible to do so. This should be the duty of each and every citizen of the land, for Covid is not only about an individual getting infected but is also about exposing the healthy ones to the virus. As repeatedly pointed out in this column the call for the new normal still stands and even as new cases keep increasing, there is all the more need for the people to really understand and appreciate the call for the new normal.