Mumbai: In a poignant situation, an Indian doctor who did not wish to be named, is at the frontline, saving lives in London while, her 59-year-old father has been quarantined in the same room as five or six at-risk patients at Barmer, Rajasthan, despite having tested negative for coronavirus.
He has no access to proper food, toilet facilities (lack of water supply) and most importantly, there is no doctor to attend to these people crammed in a single room. The Mumbai origin doctor, 25, is busy treating those affected by COVID-19 in London. She said, “I am doing what I do best, as it is my job to treat patients and save lives every day.
But at the same time, my father is suffering, being in a room with five or six people who are constantly coughing.” On March 25, 2020, the doctor’s father, employed with an oil company, underwent testing for COVID-19, as he had a mild cough, but his test was negative.
The doctor said, “The hospital authorities took him to an isolated building in Barmer and told him he needed to stay in quarantine for 14 days. I am a doctor and I checked his report, it was negative.” Butthemanis being held in group quarantine. ‘The Free Press Journal’ has a copy of the video of the isolation room.
The doctor asked in anguish, “Why have they kept my dad with other people who are constantly coughing? Are these people affected or infected? Why is he not being kept alone? Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stresses the importance of social distancing, it is ironic that he has been placed in a high-risk situation, being with this group.
On this side of the Atlantic, all of us are practising social distancing.” To worsen the matters, the patients are not being fed properly and there is no water in the toilet and no doctor. She said, “It has been five days now and none of them have been attended to by a doctor yet.
No blood tests have been done. The room is filthy, as there is no water supply in the toilet and the room is full of mosquitoes.” When the doctor’s father claimed his right to self-isolation, the Rajasthan Police on guard would not allow him to leave. The doctor wondered whether it was quarantine or jail. “It is quarantine, not jail where police are constantly guarding people.
In London, we are immediately treating patients and isolating them individually. But in India, you are isolated away from home even if you cough and test negative. Are we trying to save people or kill them? My father is a senior citizen and should be isolated alone because right now, he is prone to serious risks.”
