This very week, three years ago, the nation was sent into one of the harshest lockdowns in the world which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced with barely four hours’ notice to combat the rising incidence of the Covid-19 pandemic. This week, Modi chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the Covid-19 renewed spread — or return — in the country. As the case count keeps rising day after day, it has brought back people’s attention to the pandemic which seemed to have receded into memory and the fetish with the daily case count and deaths has returned. What triggered the high-level meeting was possibly that the country reported a single-day rise of 1,134 new cases — the highest in 2023 so far — with active cases surpassing the 7,000 mark.
It is clear now that the pandemic is not going to be history any time soon. Instead, as the virus mutates and newer variants are produced whether in India or other countries, Covid will continue to linger in some form or the other, rearing its head more at certain times of the years. In most people, it may be akin to any other viral infection but, in some, the virus may lead to fatalities. The Covid case count will cause concern when it rises rapidly, hospitals swell with patients, dedicated Covid care centres have to be reopened, and there is a shortage of essential supplies such as oxygen cylinders and so on. The drill is, by now, well known which it was not three years ago. This is now known territory and the protocols have been established; the government knows what to expect and how bad the situation may turn out to be.
The question, therefore, is whether the government is prepared this time around or not. Have guidelines been issued, are international flights from Covid-affected destinations being tracked, are passengers made to take compulsory tests, have masks been made mandatory, is the testing-tracking-isolating template in place especially in the large cities where the virus can spread within hours, and more such questions linger without clear answers yet. This should not have come to pass. Given what India went through in 2020 and 2021, the preparations should have been of a level that inspires confidence in people that healthcare systems in states and at local levels are in a state of readiness to counter the spread. Government, whether at the Centre or in states, should take people into confidence to apprise them of the preparations. The virus has sent, and is sending, warning signals.
