Starting Monday, the Itanagar capital region (ICR) will start opening up. The total lockdown will end and partial lockdown will start in the ICR. The Covid positive rate and the number of cases gradually came down during the lockdown period. But the situation can still turn for the worse if the authorities and the citizens take things for granted. The gain made in the last one month should not be lost. During the lockdown period, everyone, including the capital administration, the health department, the police, the business community and the citizens jointly worked hard to stop further spread of the virus in the ICR.
The business community in particular deserves special mention. It has incurred heavy losses but extended every possible support to the ICR administration during the lockdown period. Under the aegis of the Arunachal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the business community has played a key role in motivating members of the business community to come forward for vaccination and Covid-19 tests. This has definitely helped the capital administration in the battle against coronavirus. The state government should recognize the contribution of the business community and, if possible, extend some kind of relief to them. As the ICR starts partial unlocking on Monday, the role of the citizens will become more critical. People need to strictly follow all measures of partial lockdown and maintain Covid-appropriate behaviour. The citizens as well as the state government should not let the guard down. Everyone needs to remain alert. The vaccination drive should further be intensified in the coming days.