It may be time to ease Covid-19 curbs

With state govt wiser from its experience in managing the pandemic and population reaching a do-or-die situation, easing, if not complete lifting, of restrictions must be earnestly considered

With due respect to the fear of the third wave striking us, we would like to bring to the central and state governments’ notice the necessity of relaxing Covid-19 curbs where they can be managed with the participation of stakeholders and strict enforcement by the authorities. Such a time has come with the traders and shopkeepers, not-approved-for-travel suburban train commuters and all others affected raising the demand for easing the restrictions, if not lifting them entirely, because their very existence as commercial entities, small or big, is under grave threat. It appears to be a do-or-die battle for the sellers when on the other hand, the consumers face a different set of problems — rising inflation, reduced salaries (if they are still holding onto their jobs), employment loss.

After the first lockdown experience last year, there have been no uniform curbs across the country. The Centre has kept the disaster management rules in promulgation and authorised states to take calls as per the specific advisories that are issued from time to time. At times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with chief ministers of the most affected states, of which Maharashtra has been a permanent member because of its highest caseload and deaths. Maharashtra reported 8,172 new cases and 124 deaths on July 16. With a recovery rate of 96.28 per cent, 8,950 patients were discharged the same day, but the condition in 10 out of 36 districts remains worrisome because they together account for 90 per cent of the state’s total caseload. People in the government say this situation is the primary reason for the hesitancy in unlocking the state further, though there are different opinions about it within the political leadership of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Some people are of the opinion that the state should take a risk, if not immediately but very soon, and some are very cautious about not moving a word from Level 3 restrictions that are in place now. 

Last week, PM Modi came up with advice on preventing a third wave of the Coronavirus. He focused on the four Ts — testing, tracking, treating and tika (vaccinating) state populations. The first three Ts are being handled by the states, but the fourth one cannot be implemented without adequate vaccines, which come from the Centre. A political slugfest over a disputed subject like this has never stopped, unmindful of the fact that quicker and large-scale vaccination will lead us to achieve herd immunity. According to the president-elect of Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra chapter, Dr Suhas Pingle, the pandemic turns into an endemic in two ways. “At least 70 per cent of the population needs to be immune by way of vaccination to keep the rate of infection under control. The other way to determine herd immunity is when a large proportion of the population gets infected,” he said.

So, in vaccination lies a catch because the lifting of curbs can directly be associated with it. It is being discussed whether the fully vaccinated workforce should be allowed to travel on the suburban trains and if businesses should be allowed to operate for longer hours. But then things boil down to the number of fully vaccinated in the district or city where the authorities might think of easing the curbs. We’re not able to jab an adequate number of the workforce aged between 18 and 44 years because of the short supply of vaccines. By July 16, Maharashtra had given the first dose to over three crore people, while 88.37 lakh were fully vaccinated. Maharashtra tops the chart nationally in this department, and it is willing to go even faster if given more vaccines but is not sure because of the manufacturing limitations.   

Also read: UK hits target of the jab for everyone ahead of time

Can there be a way, at this point in time, to offer some more relief to the people? Maharashtra, with over two third of its 12 crore population eligible for the shots, may not be able to achieve the vaccination target any month soon. But if authorities are to be believed, then, the state is preparing diligently for a third wave, if any. We believe that the machinery has learned lessons from the deficiencies it faced in managing the second wave, which is still effective. We agree that the restrictions that were put in force early this year and later made stricter with the advent of the new infection aren’t lockdown-like. Yet, we would like the government to rethink, take a chance and trust the majority population that has realised that prevention is better than cure and that they must make a living in a new normal.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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