Saturday last marked the completion of one year when the first COVID-19 case was detected in India. It has been one of the most tumultuous years in the history of the country as the pandemic claimed more than 1.5 lakh lives and disrupted the economy causing millions to go out of jobs overnight. A lockdown, the harshest undoubtedly in the world was imposed and repeated thereafter several times causing unprecedented loss of livelihoods. The words daily repeated then by the suddenly-unemployed workers of the unorganised sectors and migrant labourers were: “If it’s not due to COVID, we will surely die out of starvation.” At the end of the first anniversary of the virus’s detection, things are much better however and if figures are the reflection of on-ground picture, it must be said that India has managed to reach the goal of attaining its foremost objective which is to fatten the curve. The feel-good atmosphere has also been aptly supplemented by the smooth rolling of the ongoing vaccination and while a total freedom from the dreaded virus is still miles away, the future is definitely not bleak.

There was a time when it was widely believed that the marauding virus would engulf the entire populace. The first case to be detected was in Kerala on January 30 and within months an exponential growth pattern, in terms of daily caseloads and deaths was observed. During the months of peak, daily 90000 additions and 1000 deaths were common when nowhere in the world it was so unsettling. ‘Flattening of the curve’ was a wild dream then and there was always a sincere prayer for the vaccine by all. That has arrived finally, thanks to the advancement of medical science and the scientists who made a near-impossible task possible by gifting the ultimate cure within 9 months when it usually takes at least 4-6 years. The current COVID picture will boost the country’s confidence indeed as on Saturday when there were around 127 deaths, in the US it was nearly 1900 and in the UK around 600. National recovery rate now is almost 97% and within two weeks, 37 lakh healthcare workers have been inoculated. The task that lies ahead is to reach the rest of the target which is covering the 30 crore high-risk group within July next and this is only possible only through concerted efforts by all states. While the low population count will be a boon for Arunachal Pradesh in the ongoing vaccination drive, reaching out to them with the singular objective of zero left-outs within time will be a challenge. But, it must be attained at any cost.

The light at last has arrived at the tunnel end. It’s still a long way to go however.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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