If Lakshwadeep can keep COVID-19 at a bay why not others?

The way the cases of COVID-19 positive is shooting up in the three districts of Barak Valley, nay in entire Assam,
If Lakshwadeep can keep COVID-19 at a bay why not others?

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: The way the cases of COVID-19 positive is shooting up in the three districts of Barak Valley, nay in entire Assam, questions are being raised in knowledgeable circles about the effectiveness of measures taken to contain it. Till last evening of the Independence Day, 5983 positive cases were reported in the valley and there is no sign of its abatement. Intermittent lockdowns for more than 67 days and the unlock 3 in process, issuance of guidelines necessary to fight away the virus have failed to work out.

Two marathon meetings of the district administration with senior citizens here rejected the imposition of further lockdown. Instead consensus was for strict enforcement of guidelines which are observed by large number of people with difference. Mask is worn, protruding from the cheek. Social distance is mocked at. The story is more or less identical across Assam. Pantho Priya Dhar, Associate Professor in a local college, cited the example of Lakshwadeep, the only Union Territory of India, with no coronavirus disease. T Kassim, Deputy Magistrate of the Island in Arabian Sea, is on record to say it has been possible by limiting the movement of people and their face to face contact, besides making wearing of mask compulsory. T Kassim admits Lakshwadeep is an archipelago of 36 islands with just 71,000 population, of course, with equally limited resources. In fact, the way the Island resisted the pandemic more than 5 months after the country reported its first Covid patient is a story of meticulous tracking and executing a well planned routine to the last detail. Doors of the Island, a tourist spot, were closed for outsiders. It is not only Lakshwadeep of our country, but 19 of the 192 countries of the world, mostly in Pacific Island, have become COVID-19 free.

The latest to join this Club of 19 is New Zealand. When the last patient came out of the COVID ward, Prime Minister of the country, Jascinda Ardern, erupted in euphoria and dance of joy. It was people's cooperation with the administration and their adherence to the guidelines in letter and spirit that made these countries free from the COVID-19 virus. Strangely enough, among these countries is North Korea, bordering China, where venturing out for nothing entailed a fine of Rs 1,000 and jail of 6 months. After all, this is the country ruled by Kim Jong-un, the modern version of Hitler. Only draconian measures can make people obey the guidelines in our country.

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