Seeing a group of men dressed in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) enter their ward, patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital in Coimbatore at first thought it must be an inspection by a team of senior doctors.
However, when one of them, who was dressed in a PPE suit, met and began to speak, the voice sounded familiar. It was none other than Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin who was enquiring about their well being. The patients were moved and pleasantly surprised by the gesture.
Stalin, who dressed up from head to toe, to enter the highly infectious zone, later tweeted that he had undertaken this inspection unmindful of “affectionate advice”, to “infuse hope” among those undergoing treatment for the dreaded novel coronavirus disease.
“The hope and consolation offered to patients, along with medicines, will help them recover from the disease. The Government of Tamil Nadu will infuse this hope,” he said.
“I went inside to reassure the doctors and frontline workers who risked their lives, the patients, and their families. We will conquer this pandemic,” he tweeted.
The Chief Minister enquired with the patients about their health and the treatment they get at the hospital and wished them a speedy recovery.
An official release said Stalin was the first Chief Minister in the country to visit a COVID-19 ward. However, some social media users pointed out that Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao had recently interacted with COVID patients wearing just a mask and face shield.
