TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2024
Soter D’Souza
Even one year after the COVID-19 disrupted Goan lives with a total lockdown, various restrictions and loss of loved ones and jobs, no lessons seem to have been learnt. Society has remained shameless. The panic and confusion during the first wave of COVID-19 was understandable and the benefit of doubt could be given to the Goa government for its policy goof ups being unintentional. However, the same cannot be said now of the government when it comes to this second wave of COVID infections. This second wave has been correctly labelled by the columnist Shankar Aiyar as “the epidemic of wilful blindness.” It is the sheer arrogance and care a damn attitude of both the government and the public which has invited the current tsunami of infections. The ease of merry-making unlimited to facilitate the ease of doing business and making a quick buck had become the government’s first priority instead of public health safety being the uppermost concern. The SOPs in place for government programs, elections and religious events were, and continue to remain, superficial and more out of a compulsion rather than driven by a conviction and determination to eradicate the scourge of COVID-19.
The propaganda about developing herd immunity against COVID during the first wave led those who had recovered from the infection to think themselves the privileged class with antibodies and at liberty to ignore COVID appropriate behaviours. Now, it is the over exaggerated publicity for the vaccine option which is emboldening the people to lower their guard and relax. Those who receive the jab seem to assume that they are an immunised class of citizens against COVID who have won the ticket to become lax, hardly conscious of the fact that till now the vaccine does not prevent an infection, but is only claimed to lower the severity of the infection.
For the last couple of months, medical experts have been pleading with the public not to lower their guard and to observe COVID appropriate behaviours. The sero-surveys which were carried out in several States across the country had already pointed to the possibility of a second wave of infections. But the show was allowed to go on by the government without paying any heed to the appeals for caution. Drawing people out of their homes by creating occasions to congregate for social and religious events, even if SOPs were in place, has compromised the fight against the virus. What people do on the way from their homes to the venue of the events and on their way back, or away from the TV camera focus, did not seem to be the concern of the organisers nor the government.
Ultimately, it is the healthcare workers who are made to pay huge costs for this half-hearted government actions and gross public irresponsibility which takes the cover of COVID fatigue, economic recovery and conspiracy theories. While all safeguards got ignored in Goa to celebrate festivals, there was not the least concern for the plight of medicos and health workers and their families as the COVID infections began showing signs of increasing. Unfortunately, the economy became the first priority in governance, and public health safety became the last priority for ministers with a conflict of interest in tourism and real estate. Offering prayers for health workers at religious services and felicitating the COVID warriors without following COVID appropriate behaviours is sheer hypocrisy.
Goans are victims of a political climate in the country driven by the ambition of one political party to attract attention at any cost and the obsession of one leader to control from Delhi and get international acclaim by exaggerating achievements in the anti-COVID battle, which has resulted in making a mockery of federal governance and created a trust deficit between the government and its people. The bragging about becoming the ‘pharmacy for the world’ has now resulted in shattering the world record in COVID infections. If banging of utensils, ringing bells and lighting diyas were the distractions used to cover up the blunder of a total lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 infections, it is the hype around the ‘Tika Utsav’ which is now being employed to divert people’s attention from the policy failures which have contributed to the second wave of COVID infections. Citizens not getting vaccinated cannot become the government’s cover up for the deaths in this second wave of infections.
The night curfew currently imposed at this juncture in Goa to prevent people roaming on the roads but not restricting anyone from partying indoors only reflects the lack of seriousness of the government. This night curfew should have been imposed two months ago. Now it is a case of too little, too late. The continued adamance of the government in not enforcing curbs on tourists entering into Goa from neighbouring States with high infection rates defeats logic and reason. Vaccinating employees working in the hospitality industry will not prevent them from getting infected with the virus and taking it home to infect their family and friends. The government cautioning locals to take care and avoid places where tourists are roaming in groups is simply impractical. Is the government implying that Goans should quarantine and deprive themselves of their freedom and basic needs for the welfare of the casino and hotel lobby?
Now that the COVID tsunami is sweeping the State, the first priority is to break the chain of transmission of the virus. Let us understand that we cannot earn any positive karma by ignoring COVID appropriate behaviours and infecting others, as well as by burdening the health infrastructure and endangering the lives of the health workers.
(The author is a social activist who has been a member of the Panchayat and has worked in creating awareness on the issue of local self-governance)
