By Sahil Mahajan
With the constant rise in Covid-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir , the situation has become quite worrisome . There have been more than 1,000 cases on daily basis for the past few days and there are no indications that there is any possibility of the decline in the infection rates . The fact is that the situation appears to be becoming worse than last year-2020- when. We were confronted with the devastating Covid-19 pandemic for the first time . The second wave of the pandemic in 2021 appears to be deadlier and all the experience of fighting the disease may fall much short of the expectations.
This is a country-wide phenomenon , the states of Maharashtra , Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are running out of hospital beds, oxygen facilities and the ventilators . A lockdown is staring at us. If that happens, it would be the worst case-scenario becoming true.
Jammu is having its own fault-lines. Even in the best of times, the health care system in Jammu and Kashmir was well below the required standards. It had collapsed last year and despite the official claims to the contrary, the condition remains unchanged. The administration has done what it knows best to impose restrictions. Night curfew has already been imposed and schools shut until May 15, and now it appears that the schools would remain shut for a lot longer, depending on the situation . The fact, however, is that the officially reported cases are far less than the actual ones .That’s a fact and we cannot escape this reality.
In the situation that has fallen on us , there is a need for greater show of unity in rising to the occasion . This is not just about saving our lives, but also the lives of all others in family and society at large . The reserves will have to be protected . There was some strength in us last year to deal with the situation but the unsparing pandemic and brutish lockdown imposed on the people worsened the things. Those wounds are festering and we have no means to combat the things as per our capacity of last year . The capacity has been reduced drastically , economy is tottering and the collapsed health system has landed the whole region in a state of helplessness. There may go an argument that the whole country, and many other countries are faced with the similar, rather far worse situation , so Jammu is not an exception .That has some validity, but Jammu should think and rethink that how the situation came to this pass.. Primarily , we are responsible as we said goodbye to the Covid-19 guidelines and assumed , to our peril only, that the situation is back to normal. . Jammu, like many other places in the country veered to the idea that the worst is over and this sense gained traction after the vaccine was rolled out .Besides vaccine hesitancy, we were confronted with the misplaced priorities and the result is that we all are in the grip of pandemic yet again with much more serious consequences than before. Jammu will have to take care of itself . There is need to wake up to the situation and we all will have to help ourselves and stay safe. All those eligible need to get vaccinated and the governments announcement of opening up vaccination to all above 18 is a very welcome step and will go a long way in countering the situation.