Skip to main content

How Does The Government Machinery Respond If You Are Covid-19 Positive - Personal Account

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.


 
Getting tested:

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.


On developing any symptoms, if you approach a private clinic, the doctor will mostly convince it is just viral fever and to follow the medications. But, make sure to get your symptoms handwritten by the doctor on your prescription. Private labs are very specific about this. A valid prescription is mandatory to get an appointment. They charge 4500Rs. But, an additional charge for home sample collection.

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.

Link to this article featured in citizen matters

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts while stirring the kesari on my mom's birthday!

 One of the best books I have read is “My Father Baliah.” Baliah’s son narrates how his father raised his family through education. It is a simple book on the legacy of a father and the ordinary things our parents do that shape our lives and the people we become. I remember reading the last chapter of the book on my Kindle while on a train. The book ends with Baliah being taken to the grave, and I cried thinking about my mom. I thought to myself that someday I should write a book titled “My Mother Tamilselvi.” The thoughts reappeared when I was cooking kesari on my mom’s birthday. That is the only dish she would consistently prepare for all our birthdays. We used to tease her that she couldn't cook anything else, and she never bothered to prove us wrong. Though I may not be close to writing a book, I thought of writing down the thoughts running through my mind while stirring the kesari. People usually credit mothers for delicious meals, but to be honest, I do not remember any of he...
Post a Comment
Read more

An exciting mystery that is Lepakshi

If you are someone who prefers to be away from the city for a while, but also wants to explore how the ancient cities used to be, you might find the ancient temples of medieval times interesting. Here is one such place where ancient architecture meets scientific mysteries. Lepakshi is a village in Andhra Pradesh, secluded from the hustle and bustle of the cities, but, well connected with them. First things first. What is Lepakshi: Legend has it that, this is the place where Jatayu fell after a failed mission to rescue Sita from Ravana’s clutches. Rama saw the mighty eagle lying on the ground miserably and said “Le Pakshi” which translates in English as “Rise, bird”. The main attractions in Lepakshi are the Veerabadraswamy temple and the world’s biggest monolithic Nandi which were all built during Vijayanagara empire times between 13 & 15 th century A.D. What to see in Lepakshi:     1. Veerabadraswamy Temple.      a. Kalyana Mandap A ma...
7 comments
Read more

4 times The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was savagely feminist

       Comedy is a tricky premise. You either win all guns blazing or fall flat. There is no in between. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one such experiment that fared well enough to receive so many accolades for its cast and storyline. However, as an Indian viewer, it is sometimes hard to interpret the jokes as we are unfamiliar with the socio-cultural background in which it is set. The late 1950s of New York City is something beyond our imagination of course. Maybe some of the jokes couldn’t have tickled our ribs, but the message they put across is always loud and clear. As an Indian woman, I have always believed that the emancipation of woman first comes through education and sexual liberation shall follow. This I found hard to understand in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, where the women seem to be sexually liberated, but for education, there is no due importance. Mrs. Weissman manipulating the women students in their post-graduate into believing that the Master’s degr...
Post a Comment
Read more