Manipur villages ‘lock down’ voluntarily amid coronavirus pandemic

Imphal: Soon after the news of a 23-year-old girl from Imphal West testing positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, the first case in Manipur, reports are coming in from several villages where residents are voluntarily blocking their entry and exit points amid the deadly pandemic.

In line with the nationwide lockdown which came into force on Tuesday midnight, various villages in Ukhrul district have started prohibiting visitors or outsiders into their localities.

Locals in the remote villages opined that by temporarily disconnecting from the rest of the region and society is a way of social distancing. Moreover, due to lack of proper healthcare facilities in the remote areas, locals feel that it is best for them to restrict visitors or outsiders from visiting for the time being to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, villages like Hungpung and Hunphun of Ukhrul district were also seen voluntarily locking down and prohibiting vehicular and public movement as precautionary measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

Locals are now advised to take permission from the village authority for any emergency work or to venture out for grocery shopping.

It is very much essential now to monitor every incoming and outgoing people in the locality because without this proper procedure, the disease might easily transmit into the area, one of the locals said.

Similar precautionary steps were also seen in the other remote villages in the district.

“Prevention from COVID-19, we save family. We are saving the world,” said a board in one of the temporary entrance gates.

In another, it said: “COVID-19 awareness, no trespassing.”

On the first day of the nation lockdown, people in the state while maintaining social distance and avoiding mass gatherings were seen completely shut indoors, a first step towards breaking the COVID-19 infection cycle.