Veroli Zhimo
A second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, should it hit Nagaland, can be attributed to two main factors— public apathy and institutional failures.
A sense of complacency crept in once cases began to dwindle in the state by the end of 2020. There were visible lapses and laxities in testing and surveillance mechanisms and public indifference towards maintaining basic safety protocols. The government is at fault too, permitting large gatherings with little concern for the risks posed by these events.
Across the nation, the pandemic’s second wave appears even stronger than the first and the existing data point to its troubling potency. During the first wave of the pandemic, it took 61 days for the caseload to rise from 25,000 to 92,000. But this time around, reports indicate that the corresponding time is merely 22 days.
On March 31, after weeks of maintaining a low trend in the detection of COVID-19 cases, Nagaland reported 107 new cases—the highest single-day spike since November 20 last year. The state health department’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) issued a word of caution that the ‘superspreader’ event “sends a clear message that such events can happen anywhere when necessary conditions (crowding) are met.”
To avoid such events, the IDSP called for “alternate day routine for schools,” staggered timings for church and religious events while ensuring 2-meter physical distancing as stipulated in earlier SOPs, besides event managers ensuring management, physical distancing and COVID-19 appropriate behaviours.
To prevent Nagaland from going under this wave, the following measures should be implemented on a war-footing. It must revive surveillance, testing and tracing mechanisms for early detection and containment.
Along with this, the state must also make negative RT-PCR reports mandatory for those travelling from Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi; the eight states currently bearing the brunt of the caseload.
Dispelling doubts about the vaccines must be prioritized and the vaccination programme must be widened to cover as many vulnerable citizens as possible. It should also ensure that the healthcare apparatus in every part of the state is prepared to cope with the rush of patients.
Hopefully, Nagaland will be prepared for the second wave with minimal ‘communication gaps.’
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