For Covid survivors, social stigma an unending battle
The good part is that we as a family have bonded even more, and the sad part is that people avoid us as they still think we are infected. Some don’t come home while others are reluctant. It will take its own time.
FIZA GUPTA, tricity’s first patient
CHANDIGARH : After recovering from coronavirus, a different battle awaits the survivors — stigma.
Hostile stares, shifty glances from those who were once friendly neighbours now greet them.
It has been a month since Parul Kalia, a London-based doctor, recovered from the virus, but she is not stepping out of her home. “I have seen people suffer, I treated them for two months. I saw young, healthy and happy people crash and die in no time,” said Kalia, who developed symptoms after she returned to India.
For her, the isolation period was the most traumatic, when she worried about her parents and wasn’t sure how her disease would run its course. Her details were shared on social media and people began stalking her, calling her names. “People didn’t respect my privacy which was most distressing,” she said.
The fight is not over, she said, as she is fatigued, sleeps long hours and has mild breathing issues. “These residual effects improve with time. It is people’s response I can’t come to terms with,” said Kalia, who has been writing articles for journals and even shot a video for Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.
“The virus is here to stay and it is going to impact mental health, too,” she warned.
City’s first Covid-19 patient, Fiza Gupta, and her brother, also a survivor, recently donated plasma. A month on, people still think they are “virus carriers”.
“I have become more grateful about the small things in life. I had many plans, but this virus taught me to take life as it comes. I also realise now what it means to give back to society,” said 23-year-old Fiza, adding, “The good part is that we as a family have bonded even more, and the sad part is that people avoid us as they still think we are infected. Some don’t come home while others are reluctant. It will take its own time.”
Her brother, Arnav, 25, who tested positive a day after she did, was discharged on April 4. “People still look at me differently. I don’t blame them. If you see or hear about Covid 24x7, you are bound to panic. The ordeal gave me time to introspect and start meditation,” Arnav said, adding that he was grateful his family and friends stood by him.
HEALTH WORKER AGHAST BY PUBLIC RESPONSE
Meanwhile, the first health worker to catch the coronavirus after he came in contact with a patient at PGIMER said he was aghast that people in his community think he was still a carrier. “I recovered and completed the isolation period. But even after a month, when I stepped out for a walk, unfriendly stares from my neighbours compelled me to go back home. It’s disturbing.”