Dimapur, August 11 (MExN): Nagaland government’s health apparatuses seem to be oblivious, or just in sheer complacence, at the rising death and infection toll in the country from H1N1 (or “swine flu”). Today, four more deaths were reported across India, taking the total to ten and an infection rate that is gradually spreading by the steady hundreds. And for the north eastern region, the first infection was confirmed today in Shillong in Meghalaya.
State governments and their ministers across the country are up and about how best to counter and tackle the virus that is gradually spreading. The perceptibly subdued panic but palpable urgency is so much so that Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday reportedly spoke to 22 chief ministers to take steps in urgency to stem the infection and its spread.
However, ever since the first H1N1 death was reported this month, not an official policy action or even ‘assurances’ from the Government of Nagaland-level has been received. In fact whatever public health drives and information on H1N1 have been from private medical and departmental levels. Sheer complacence seems to be the one feature of the state government in the backdrop of a situation that is driving governments and medical institutions frantic. Yesterday, a doctor had told this daily that the government has even yet to respond to “proposals” sent by the Health department regarding the H1N1 situation. A number of doctors that had interacted with this daily on the flu earlier, were hesitant to respond to queries what they knew of action being taken at the governmental level. “We are still awaiting positive response,” a doctor had said simply.
Also, the state government reportedly told reporters today in Kohima that the cabinet, only now, would be discussing swine flu – and even more interestingly, the swine flu issue is clubbed with other agendas such as “health” and “education.” The impression the entire contextualization gives in the backdrop of the whole urgent situation, smacks of indulgence in either apathy or complacence. And the flu is already in Meghalaya’s hub Shillong – a favorite haunt for literally thousands of Naga students and travelers everyday.
Today the chief minister has admitted that the “government” is not ‘actually prepared at the moment’ although “precautionary measures” are being ‘taken.’ ‘Not-prepared’ seems right, because for the past one week, every day, this daily had tried repeatedly to contact the ministers and people in authority of the concerned departments. To no avail even if they weren’t “switched off” – as they usually already were – they were “busy.” In fact whatever little inputs about what is being done in the state regarding the epidemic and whatever information could be had for public information, they were only from concerned and helpful doctors in Dimapur and Kohima.
Certainly, 20 doses of ‘Tamiflu’ in Dimapur cannot believably be the only “measure” available to counter an illness which is rapidly spreading all over the globe.
