Need to streamline

 A lot has been happening since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown enforced throughout the country since March 24,2020 and in Nagaland too, there has been a series of headline news over the handling of the pandemic by the government in particular and responses of political parties and public. First of all, when the state government announced a series of preparatory measures to contain COVID-19, it projected a picture that it was on the right track. However, from earlier claims that the state was fully prepared to later admission that much needs to be done; the status appears to be swinging like a pendulum. This newspaper has been highlighting the urgent need for a scientific approach to contain COVID in which a cell or committee is constituted comprising of epidemiologists, virologists and medical scientists whose responsibility is to lay out a blueprint for the battle against COVID-19. On its part the bureaucracy and politicians have to ensure that the required medical equipments, medicines, COVID hospitals and deployment or required manpower are made available. Leaving aside the photo ops and daily headlines involving COVID issue, the state appears to be evolving as it moves along and this is what has raised concern. It can be translated into according wrong priorities. The management of the entire issue of stranded people has cost the state around Rs.28 crore. The point is whether there has been any strict monitoring over the process while providing financial assistance to those who wanted to return and those who chose to remain? There are also concerns regarding the handling of returnees at various quarantine centres among which was in putting all together and risking transmission. On the other hand, there are also reports of alleged misbehaviour among some of those quarantined and posing difficult problems for the doctors and those managing these facilities. The state lacks not only enough doctors and nurses as pointed out by the Nagaland In-service Doctors’ Association( NIDA) but also facilities in designated COVID hospitals. The issue of poor quality PPEs supplied to the frontline workers has been widely reported in the local media and subsequently landed up at the table of the Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench in the form of two Public Interest Litigation(PIL) filed separately. If there was any failing on the part of the government, it is that the pandemic has totally caught it unaware and shaken its foundations. Though the suggestion made by this newspaper earlier, for a separate scientific-driven and manned cell or committee may not have been formed, yet it appears that the recent decisions have veered slightly towards that direction. Belatedly and after over two months of the lockdown, the state government has woken up to the fact that there is urgent need of more doctors and nursing assistants which was aired by NIDA. The state government has disclosed that it will be appointing doctors and nurses to relieve those currently being overworked and overstressed. However, it is hoped that the government would also spell out the criteria through an open advertisement so that it would make the process transparent. The positive side is that the people are extending cooperation with the government in fighting COVID-19 and it would be in the fitness of things if the trust deficit if any, is bridged through transparent actions as the battle has only begun.