Obey protocols

The second wave of ongoing deadly COVID-19 pandemic is considerably on decline as the number of cases has been decreasing from the last two weeks, giving a sigh of relief to the people. The government in Jammu and Kashmir after taking several steps has finally decided to ease the restrictions to a large extent, paving way for the conduct of businesses and other related things to function normally. There are 12 districts in Jammu and Kashmir where weekend curfew will continue to prevent the virus from spreading. However, eight out of the 20 districts have been excluded from the weekend curfew following the decline in the number of daily cases. There are two districts in J&K including Reasi and Samba where zero Covid cases were reported on a day so far since the outbreak of the second wave, which is an indication of the decline in the number of covid cases. As the enforcement agencies are taking every possible steps including fining the people for flouting the covid related guidelines, there is a need of obeying the protocols in letter and spirit as the leniency at this juncture can land us in disastrous situation again, which may force the government to impose the curbs again. The possibility of a third wave can be prevented as per the experts by following the standard operating procedures. Therefore, it stands the responsibility of one and all to follow the guidelines to put an end to the pandemic and ensure a healthy society once again.