Pandemic not over

The Covid-19 pandemic is not over. Though various restrictions have been withdrawn and relaxed, the killer virus which has its roots in China is still around. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has rightly said that despite the decrease in the number of daily Covid-19 cases in the country, the people should not let their guards down because the second wave of the pandemic is yet to come to an end. As such, he has appealed to the people to continue to follow all the Covid-appropriate guidelines and protocols like maintaining social and physical distance, wearing a mask and frequent washing of hands. Official statistics have revealed that nearly 68 per cent of the total Covid cases in the country during the last seven days were reported from Kerala. Of the 43,263 Covid cases reported from across India between Thursday and Friday, Kerala alone had accounted for 32,000 cases. This means the killer virus is active and thriving in Kerala, and going by past experience one can say that the virus can once again spread rapidly across the country as it had done twice in the past two years. That is exactly why the World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated its appeal to people across the globe to stay safe by taking some simple precautions, such as physical distancing, wearing a mask, keeping rooms well ventilated, avoiding crowds, cleaning hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue. Unfortunately, in Assam, a large section of the people has decided not to follow these precautions. They include both rich and poor, students and teachers, and ministers and officers too. In Guwahati, shopkeepers, customers, electric rickshaw drivers, vendors, students, municipal garbage collectors – various people are seen blatantly violating the basic norms required to be observed to keep the Covid situation under control.