Virus spreading fast within families this time: Experts
The virus being more communicable and absence of lockdown are cited as reasons for the exponential increase in cases
SRINAGAR: In the second wave, coronavirus is spreading fast within families as compared to the previous year, health experts in Kashmir say. More and more families, with all or most of the members, are getting infected as people living in close spaces, particularly in Srinagar, are more prone to contracting Covid.
“The virus during this wave is more communicable. That is the reason that the number of cases is rising immediately and virus is spreading fast within families. This year, a Covid patient’s chances of infecting others are more than last year,” said Dr Rouf Hussain Rather, community medicine specialist and in-charge of data analysis at divisional Covid control room. “Family means a unit. It rarely
happens if anybody gets infected that his family won’t be affected. Such cases are more this year,” he said.
Rather, he attributed the exponential increase in cases in the second wave to two key factors — virus being more communicable and absence of lockdown.
President of Doctors Association Kashmir and an influenza expert, Dr Nisar ul Hassan, said that new studies have proven that Covid spreads more in indoor settings as it is airborne.
He said that there are more contributing factors specific to Kashmir. “Climate is one of the reasons. Even in summers due to chilly weather, our doors and windows remain closed. You are vulnerable because of the climate and because of congested places. There are less nuclear families here and most people still live in joint families in Old City. After hospitals, these houses can be super-spreading places,” he said.
With all or most of the members getting infected, families are approaching many social organisations and NGOS for help.
Members of Athrout Kashmir, an organisation engaged in philanthropic work in the Valley,
said they have been witnessing multiple cases where entire families have been infected with Covid.
“The last two days have been very emotional at Athrout. We are receiving several such cases. Yesterday, a Covid patient walked into our office for an oxygen concentrator for his mother. He said his entire family has tested positive and he has nobody else to arrange oxygen support for his mother,” the organisation mentioned on its Twitter handle.
Another organisation, SRO (Social Reforms Organisation)-kashmir has asked families to contact them for food.
“The Covid decimates the support system of a patient which is the gruesome part of it. When a person gets sick in a family, generally other members pitch in and try to serve the patient, but in Covid, most of the times 60-70% family members are involved. So one loses a big support system when he/she is ill or critically ill,” said Dr Asif Wani, lecturer at government medical college in Srinagar.
“What I understand is that it is not only a medical emergency but a socio-medical emergency,” he added.