The mathematical projections of MGR University indicate 1.5 lakh covid-19 patients in Chennai by mid-July and a peak in October. Going by the fact that the Varsity’s projections on Chennai have been proved right so far, it is best to brace ourselves to deal with the crisis as it is about to knock every one of our homes. This is my own account observing the crisis from close quarters which might help to understand how the system works.
This is the first of the many hardships, a patient (and their family) faces. There are as many ways to stop you from getting tested.
If you approach a govt. hospital, it is the standard O.P Procedure, it took us nearly 3 hours to meet the doctor. You can only hope that you are not infecting other persons in the queue and vice versa. The govt. doctor will also most likely advise you to just isolate and follow the medications. But, insisting on co-morbid (high BP, diabetes, heart diseases, etc.,) conditions will have an advantage of getting recommended for swab test. The O.P doctor we met in Cholera Disease Hospital (CDH) was not sure whether swab test was being conducted in CDH and advised us to go to Stanley the next day. The corporation corona camp staff said, the testing vehicle was not available and to go back to CDH, but, to be very early so that we are in the 300 samples limited for the day. Also, from what I enquired from the hospital, test results take up to 3 days in govt. labs and 24hours in private labs.
Choosing a hospital:
The standard response we received from every single private hospital offering covid-19 treatment in Chennai was “We are out of beds.” The government database that shows real-time bed availability is a joke literally. As on June 7, no private Hospital was ready to intake a corona patient. We informed the state helpline about the test results and asked their guidance. They said we would get a call back by evening. But, the corporation approached us only 3 days later.
My best advice is to go to the nearest GH. Enquire for the covid OP in the hospital and follow the standard procedure. From my observation, Stanley GH is cleanly maintained and the staff are equipped with protective gear. The doctors follow strict social distancing with the patients and admit without much ado if the patient has co-morbid conditions, otherwise, just home isolation. They get your blood test, ECG, and Chest X-ray. The only thing that creeped me out was the ambulance they used to ply the patients to the covid block a few hundred meters away. There were nearly 10 patients sitting even on the floor of the ambulance.
The covid blocks in GH operate dedicatedly. They provide nutritious food round the clock and vitals are checked by nurses. However, doctors can be barely seen. After a few days, stable patients are most likely to be shifted to Corona Care centers (CCC), to free up hospital beds.
Having mental stamina:
19 days from my mom passed away due to an accident, our dad tested positive for covid19. We needed to have an incredible mental strength to deal with that. You hear hospital staff screaming about the number of deaths in the block that day. You will see covid deceased wrapped in body-bags, being driven out with their grieving families a few feet away. The patients inside the block too will be having tremendous pressure. Thankfully phones are allowed in govt. hospitals. And we were able to sneak newspaper and magazines inside through the security persons.
Stable patients in CCC are sent on home quarantine 10days from the date of the first testing. Whether or not the government keeps track of the patients sent home is a separate story to be developed based on further observation.
To summarise, the government cannot stop you from contracting the virus. They have totally given up on that. But, it can help you (to an extent) to recover, provided you approach them. They don’t want to register more cases at all. They don’t even care to test the close contacts or quarantine the patients’ homes quickly. Quarantining is reduced to just stickers at the entrance and disinfecting the building. Contact tracing is a long-forgotten matter. Community transmission is the blatant truth, the government wants to hide by all means.
P.S: Kindly make use of this post only to know the governmental procedures in dealing with the crisis. “Stay strong” comments are not welcome. We are just tired of that already.
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