LOCKDOWN POSSIBILITY?
As the J&K and Ladakh are witnessing spurt in daily tally of the COVID-19 infection the big question which comes into mind is whether there will be another lockdown? This is something which sends chills down the spine because under the duress of a dwindling economy and skyrocketing inflation people cannot afford to go for another spell of disturbed livelihood viz lockdown. The only panacea for remaining safe from such a condition is that people should mend their ways and follow the SOPs meant for keeping the coronavirus and all its mutants at bay or else one can say that a lockdown like situation will become inevitable. It is known to one and all that J&K is facing the threat of COVID-19 more than all other states and UTs with 9 virus variants showing their presence and the active cases piling up with Jammu and Srinagar Districts showing the worst scenario and even deaths due to the virus becoming a reality again. The gravity of the situation can be well gauged by the fact that the Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, Pankaj Mithal has to ask all the stakeholders including general public to take all necessary precautions such as wearing masks and maintaining social distance in all courts in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in letter and spirit to contain the spread of the infection. Similarly, a message has been shared on the social media by a senior priest of Bawe Wali Mata claiming that the temple management has reintroduced all the precautionary measures to stop the spiraling of the virus Corona and has been providing face masks at the entry point to those devotees who are still unaware of the directions of the government making face masks mandatory again. Unlike the first wave of the pandemic COVID, the people in J&K are now fully aware about the precautions which have to be taken to remain safe and therefore the need of the time is to act sanely and start following COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) as far as possible as it is also important for saving the lives of people having comorbidities like diabetes, cancer, hypertension, etc and the infants and children who have not yet administered the requisite vaccine jabs due to their eligibility factor.