There has been a fresh surge in Covid-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir, especially Srinagar with 96 out of total 155 in J&K confirmed in the capital on Friday. It is worrying. While numbers are not alarming as the situation was in April and May, the danger of the situation getting out of hand at some point in future looms large. It calls for strict adherence to preventive measures and an increase in vaccination.
Contemporarily the spread may be limited to pockets of Srinagar, the summer capital of the J&K, there is a need for not letting down the guard to prevent a spike as was witnessed earlier this year.
The government has started micro management of the pandemic amid need for localised efforts to limit the spread.
There is enough evidence that the current crop of vaccines limit the number of people falling gravely ill.
All districts continue to be in green zones as per the cardinal Indicators for assessing the COVID 19 situation. But complacency could prove detrimental. As has been underlined the administration, better crowd management is imperative to break the spread chain. The concerned officials need to discharge their collective responsibility for enforcing Covid Appropriate Behaviour in workplaces and in public, especially in crowded places.
Also rightly divisional Commissioner Kashmir has directed the District Officers and officials to augment further vaccination teams in district Srinagar and ensure vaccination of unvaccinated people. It is step in right direction.
Efforts must be stepped up to prevent any probable future surge, especially predicted 3rd wave.
The spurt in infections in Srinagar testifies to the perils of complacency. There are, however, ample reasons why the new wave of infections shouldn’t stoke pessimism. For one, much more is known about the virus in contemporary times than last year when governments across the globe were forced into one of the stringent lockdowns. Fortunately also, there hasn’t been an alarming surge in fatalities. The next wave may not be as severe as the initial one amid availability of the vaccine. There is, however, there is need for giving serious thought to opening up vaccination to all age groups in areas.
It is important to recall that while the pandemic is ebbing, medical experts continue to warn about the unpredictable ways of the virus. And, when India’s caseload began to dip late last year, they had urged people to not let their guard down. One of the most crucial elements that helped control the prior wave was aggressive testing, contact tracing and treatment besides vaccinations.
