Veroli Zhimo
As the state experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Nagaland Government on January 31, decided to extend existing restrictions till February 15 to prevent spread of the virus.
An order was issued through the Nagaland Chief Secretary and Chairperson of the State Executive Committee, stating that all existing restrictions on social, religious, political, sports, academic, cultural or entertainment gatherings would continue to be in force till February 15 as per its previous guidelines that were issued on January 8.
This meant that the number of participants for any type of public gatherings would be limited to 50 percent occupancy of the venue or a maximum of 200 persons, whichever is lower. In case there is an unavoidable need to have bigger gatherings, they may be permitted only after getting express permission of the respective District Task Force (DTF), the January 8 order stated.
In addition to this, the organisers of any public gatherings were required to ensure adherence to basic COVID appropriate behaviours such as mandatory wearing of masks, maintenance of physical distancing, among others. However, contrary to all the COVID mitigation measures announced by the government, a look into the government and private events that have been taking place across the state, seem to point towards a general tendency to flout of rules.
Many photos taken during these events depict large crowds with huge number of unmasked participants, dignitaries such as government officials, legislators and other public leaders posing for photographs without masks, etc. While it may be impossible to verify if they removed their masks only for photos, it’s nothing new that such public figures are held to a higher standard: People expect them to follow the rules they make.
The aforementioned events and images emerging from the same, would strike citizens as hypocritical and make them question whether they should stop wearing masks themselves. It also casts doubts on the credibility and efforts of public health officials to get people to observe COVID appropriate behaviours.
Considering that science is not equipped to predict the trajectory of the pandemic, it would augur well for the state to maintain the credence that COVID appropriate behaviours remain a vital line of defense against the virus.
Just as officials at every level of government have continued to ask people to make personal sacrifices to control the spread of the virus, it must be said that if the government expects people to follow the rule, they must show that they’re following it too.
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