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Several states and Union Territories have started taking up measures amid marginal surges in Covid-19 cases just weeks after lifting of all restrictions. Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab and Haryana have made wearing of masks mandatory in public places, public transport and closed environments after taking note of the Covid scenario. More states may follow suit if the current trend continues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during an interaction with the chief ministers on Wednesday to review the Covid-19 situation in the country as the challenge of the health crisis wasn’t over, as indicated by the surge in cases in the past couple of weeks, and stressed on the need to stay alert. It goes without saying that preparedness is the best approach to mitigate disaster and pandemics. One big lesson that we learned from the ongoing pandemic is to avoid complacency. During the initial period of the outbreak in 2020, people faced lots of hardships in the form of lockdowns besides the panic and the unknown disease. It was followed by a more devastating second wave, which overwhelmed the healthcare facilities, causing shortages of vaccines, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, etc. in some places. The third wave triggered by Omicron variant of coronavirus wasn’t as severe as the earlier two but not without disrupting normal life. When everything appeared to have returned to normalcy, rising cases in the US, Europe and China have triggered fear of a possible fourth wave. China has gone to the extent of imposing lockdown and scaling up testing.
The inconveniences caused by the Covid-mitigating measures, particularly lockdown, over the past two years could make the people undermine the possible disaster that a new wave could bring. Yes, the world has battled three waves but lakhs of people have lost loved ones to the disease. Many health experts had attributed a milder and shorter third wave to a high percentage of vaccination. Nagaland’s Health department also stated that most people, who fell victim to the disease in the state during the third wave, were either not fully vaccinated or did not receive the vaccine at all. This brings forth the importance of taking the Covid vaccine, including the precautionary dose. We surely can’t afford to go through another lockdown that will further disrupt children’s education, economic activities and everyday life. To avoid such a situation, we should continue to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour like wearing of mask in public spaces and maintaining hand hygiene. The practice of wearing mask was common in some countries like Japan and South Korea long before the outbreak of Covid, to protect themselves from pollution and during the flu season. We need to adopt a similar habit. Covid or not, we should continue to wear mask in public places, especially when we are unwell. This will help curb transmission of diseases. And not to forget the importance of maintaining personal hygiene and keeping our surroundings clean for a healthy living atmosphere.