Nagpur updates: Their families are being ostracized after four individuals tested positive for coronavirus, not only by society but also by their friends and relatives.
Only those who serve as maids and guards with the families of the patients now face the sun. They are boycotted too. Many of them have also lost their jobs because they were working in patients’ homes. Expressing concern, social workers have encouraged people not to ostracize them but to help patient families.
Warning those who distanced themselves from the infected families because of the fear of catching the disease, social workers said it was time to stand together, with precautions.
By way of example, Mayor Sandip Joshi, accompanied by wife Devyani, paid a visit to one of the families affected and assured them of every possible help.
Both this family husband and wife screened positively and were put up at different hospitals. Their adolescent children are at home, near their grandparents who live in a neighboring house. The first couple of the town is also preparing to see the other two patients ‘ families in the next few days.
“Having come across troubling reports about their kin’s ostracization I decided to visit their house. Citizens understand that the patients and their families are not offenders or patients with leprosy. They are just normal, infected human beings. In all likelihood, they will soon be healed. Someone does need to be vigilant when meeting them, but it’s illegal to boycott them, “Joshi told.
He pointed out that even the cook, who was working with the family of the patient couple, was thrown out of her home by her landlord and another was told by neighbors to discontinue work.
“Civic employees should not collect garbage from their own homes. Citizens should be standing by those families and helping them to combat the threat. My aim to visit them was to give them support and encouragement, and to relay the message that we are firmly behind them, “Joshi said.
An IT company employee, whose three employees tested positive, said that after posting his videos on social media, he too faced a similar problem. “After coming into touch with three of my colleagues, at home, I decided to self-quarantine.
I posted my videos to build visibility for a noble cause, but people took them down in a negative way. We thought I was getting the infection contracted. I’ve been forced to post a new video to clear my doubts. I’ve explained I’m only taking precautionary measures, “he said. Social workers like Smita Singalkar thought that people could not isolate themselves and be kind to them from patients or their families.
“People should take precautions like wearing masks before meeting patients or their families, but it does not serve the intention of boycotting them. The Government should also ensure that adequate quantities of masks and sanitizers are made available, “she said.
Even patients said they were concerned about their families, particularly after their names were exposed via social media. “I felt this feeling when, given the fact that I am in good health, people began distancing themselves at home and in hospital. Also, our families suffer from it.
