Like most other states, Arunachal Pradesh has decided to extend the lockdown till April 30. This was sure to come, since, making assessments of the current Covid-19 containment experiences the country has gathered during this 21-day period, it must be a sure conclusion that lifting it totally will be almost suicidal. It’s further clear that the strategy will now be a phased-removal one and it’s this balancing act that will be most important as it will be having far-reaching consequences. The states which will show more skill in ground zero implementation of this method will gain most and the efficacy of the dual goals of saving lives and livelihoods will surely depend on the levels of professional competence of the administrative apparatus.

It must be acknowledged that the  state administration and those fighting from the front had done their level best in enforcing the lockdown and state’s people have also reciprocated emphatically. Everybody, over this unprecedented and regimented period had nurtured the wish that there be no further extension. But, reading the ‘modus operandi’ of the virus and going strictly by medical norms, there is no way to recede now and throw everything open at one go. Not only in India, a global consensus has already been reached and it’s not without valid reason that more and more countries have been compelled to accept this add-on tenure methodology even if at the cost of huge economic losses. Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry said on Monday has shared the data that in as many as twenty-five districts across 15 states which had detected Covid-19 positive infections earlier have contained the spread and no new cases have been reported in last14 days. This is no doubt a great input for the medical experts who are battling the deadly virus and the general non-technical inference that can be made is, if the lockdown is prolonged, the battle which once seemed a lost case has still a chance to be won. Taking the case of Arunachal itself, there must be no doubt that it is only due to strict implementation of the lockdown, there has been no addition of cases.

The state has decided to partially lift the curtain from the stalled economic activities as it was highly needed keeping in mind the economic and financial needs. And it needs no retelling that this semi-freed regime will also need to stick to all the advisories as that had been maintained over the last three weeks. Strange but true, the positive effects of this 21-day period will have every chance of getting nullified if the same disciplined tempo is not maintained.

It’s this extra sacrifice all citizens of Arunachal must collectively shoulder. 

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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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