Survivors club in WB to beat fear

A Covid-19 survivors’ club has been formed in Murshidabad of West Bengal in a unique move to beat the phobia of the deadly virus among the people of the district. It has a database of around

176 survivors of Covid-19 so far in the district who were roped in by the police and health administration to be a part of the initiative.

A.N. Roy, an orthopaedic surgeon of Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, who is also the secretary of the club and Yogiraj Roy, a community medicine specialist from Infectious Diseases Hospital in Beliaghata of Kolkata, claimed that the club is their brainchild.

The two doctors said, “While treating the

Covid-19 patients we realised they and their family members suffered most traumatic experiences in the society during treatment period. The locals tried to ostracise them. So we want to use them to overcome the Covid-19 phobia among the people because they were directly hit by the pandemic. So they can share their experience to with the people and help them overcome it.”

Deputy Inspector General (Murshidabad Range) Mukesh Kumar said, “For the first time in India, we will use the survivors to combat the fear about the pandemic among the public. They will be the administration’s face. They will share their experience of their survival of the infection physically and psychologically to win the battle.”

Chief Medical Officer of Health (Murshidabad) Dr. Prasanta Biswas highlighted that there are two sides of the survivors: the ones clinically treated and the others who won it psychologically.