The COVID-19 situation being near normal for the past couple of months or so, the State Government has withdrawn all the restrictions imposed in different spheres of public life. In the latest such withdrawal, the mandatory COVID 19 checking at airports, railway stations and bus terminuses will be lifted from March 1. Given the restoration of normal life and activities – and the very low Corona virus infections, morbidity and mortality in the past few months – this was on the cards but even now it would be imprudent to lower our guard vis-à -vis our conduct in public space. Wearing of masks in particular and hand sanitization will continue to assume significance for some more time. Assam has done reasonably well in tackling the pandemic, as testified to by the high recovery rate of 98.73 per cent and one of the lowest mortality rates at 0.50 per cent. The Health Department definitely deserves credit for this. But one would still be tempted to think that the dreaded virus was gradually making a disappearance or lost its virulence, or that the masses might have developed herd immunity. Be that as it may, one still needs to continue with the basic precautions till the scientific community asserts that the Corona virus is gone for good or the vaccination drive is complete. The WHO is also reporting some encouraging statistics on the global pandemic. In its weekly update, the WHO said the 3.1 million new COVID cases were reported around the globe last week, a 17 per cent drop from the previous week. The year gone by was unprecedented in human history and as with all the affected nations, India’s economy, too, had gone for a toss during the prolonged lockdowns. Assam’s economy had also endured severe stress, with large-scale loss of livelihood. Thankfully, normal activities have resumed now and many have returned to their earlier occupations. The State faced adverse growth figures, especially in the first two quarters of this financial year, and revenue generation slumped. However, as claimed by the Government, things are on recovery mode since. The next phase of the fight against COVID-19 will entail carrying the vaccination drive to its logical conclusion by covering the targeted population. The Government has put a provision of 6.6 lakh vaccine doses, of which more than 1.15 lakh dose inoculations have been conducted till Friday.
