Looking over the country’s latest Covid facts and figures, ‘grim milestones’ can be found everywhere. If over 9000 additions of daily cases became the new normal during the last nine days ending Thursday last, Friday has been disastrous with a record single-day spike of 11,458 infections taking the total to over 3 lakh and putting India on the fourth place of the global corona ladder. In terms of cases, on the same day Arunachal too has reported twenty new cases, the highest single-day spike which is worrisome indeed. Covid actually is proving its unpredictability almost daily and who would have imagined that distant Ladakh which has a population density (a proven cause for escalation of Covid infections) far below the nation average will see 104 new cases on Friday and even Sikkim, the last state to be affected by the virus which remained corona-free as late as May 23, to see 50 cases within such a short span.

Union Health Ministry said on Friday that there has been an improvement of the doubling time of Covid cases from 15.4 days a couple of weeks ago to 17.4 days currently. But in real terms, since large parts of the population continue remaining prone to the contagion, it is easy to make a reasonable presumption that the above ‘improvement’ will be nullified and there will hardly be any immediate respite from the unsettling sets of figures that have become a routine phenomenon. ICMR’s assertion that currently there is no community transmission in the country has stirred a hornet’s nest and expectedly has come under critical analysis by experts who have said that it’s far from the truth. The actual ‘truth’, presumably will not have to wait, if the current figures are taken as a reliable indicator. Amid this grim national scenario, the high-level meeting chaired by the PM and attended by senior ministers and officials have acknowledged the fact that there is an urgent need to make quick alterations to the existing strategies with an arc on increased testing and making adequate provisions for more beds to absorb the ‘shock’.

Since there is an indication that cases have chances to rise further, Arunachal, without losing nerves, must reinforce its guards by sticking to the fundamentals which from day one have been- containment, increased testing, tracing, upgrading the health infrastructure & clinical management and more community engagement for throwing an effective challenge to the pandemic.

Delhi is facing the heat as it has not attended the above needs in the way it should be. Many parts of the country, unfortunately, have gone the same way. Arunachal must not join them and fine-tuning and periodic reassessment of the fundamentals still remain the trusted weaponry.