After the Itanagar capital region (ICR), Tawang, Lohit and Lower Subansiri, and now Dibang Valley and Anjaw too have been put under complete lockdown. With six districts under complete lockdown and the number of cases continuing to rise, one wonders why the state government is reluctant to impose a statewide lockdown. Districts like West Kameng, East Kameng and Changlang too have reported a sudden rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last few days. Instead of going for a piecemeal kind of lockdown, the state government should impose a complete statewide lockdown in order to stop the further spread of the virus.
With the number of cases rising at an alarming rate in neighbouring Assam, the situation is expected to be grim in the next coming days in Arunachal. There is constant movement of people along the interstate boundary. The vigil around the interstate boundary should be increased. Imposing lockdown will give enough time to the district administrations to properly plan and be prepared. By refusing to impose a statewide lockdown, the state government is taking a massive risk. If the cases continue to rise and more people die, there will be a backlash. At present, states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and national capital Delhi are in complete lockdown. This has helped to bring down the positivity rate.