Anjali Rai and Pratika Pradhan had mixed feelings – whether to feel
elated or sad – as they left a private nursing home in Siliguri on
Tuesday evening after recovering from coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Both
Rai and Pradhan, who belong to Lebong and Tindharia in the Darjeeling
hills, respectively, and work as nurses at the state-run North Bengal
Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), had tested Covid-19 positive after
attending the region’s first patient, who had contracted SARS-CoV-2
that causes the disease.
North Bengal’s first Covid-19 positive, a woman from Kalimpong, had died at the NBMCH on March 30.
Rai
and Pradhan were admitted to the NBMCH on April 4 and 11, respectively,
and later shifted to the private nursing home that the West Bengal
government has earmarked for Covid-19 patients in Siliguri.
Later, Rai’s 22-month-old son, husband and mother also tested Covid-19 positive.
Though she and her mother have recovered, her child and husband are still undergoing treatment.
The
two nurses said their sheer will power helped them face the ordeal and
they were thankful to their colleagues for the support. However, they
are hurt by people’s attitude towards Covid-19 patients.
“Doctors, nurses, hospital staff, ward boys and sweepers – all those
who at the frontline in battling the pandemic – aren’t getting the
appreciation they deserve,” Pradhan said.
“When I initially got
the symptoms I requested many people in my neighbourhood to keep my son
with them for a few days. But, they refused on the pretext that other
residents might object,” Rai said.
Rai’s neighbours, however,
welcomed her and her mother when they returned to their apartment, which
is located close to the NBMCH. Pradhan, too, received flowers when she
returned to her parents’ home at Tindharia, which is located 27
kilometres north of Siliguri. But her relatives said some local people
at Darjeeling More in Siliguri pressured the owner of the house, where
she lives as a tenant, not to let her in.
“She’d have loved to stay in her rented accommodation in Siliguri, if
she’d have been allowed to go there,” said Anjana Sinchury, a Tindharia
resident.
“When I tested Covid-19 positive, I felt very low. But I
didn’t break down because I knew that I’d have to face the crisis,”
Pradhan said.
Rai said had the NBMCH authorities were more
cautious, her family members might not have been infected. Some of her
colleagues, who didn’t wish to be identified, agreed with her
assessment.
https://www.hindustantimes.com
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