Stigma has come to be the alias of the novel coronavirus disease and several instances have emerged of how patients were thrown out of their homes along with family members, and how doctors treating COVID-19 patients were asked to vacate houses. Patients even committed suicide finding nowhere to go once afflicted by the disease.
Stigma and isolation are not leaving the patients even after they have been cured of the dreadful infection. Each recovered COVID-19 patient has a sordid tale to narrate about how the disease stays in the psyche of the society even after leaving the body.
Shunned by neighbours
Wife and son of Shaik Vali from Champapet were infected along with his in-laws four months ago. They were isolated in Gandhi Hospital, and eventually, the father-in-law passed away. “We had to seek help from the police when our apartment society did not allow us to enter our own home, despite the fact that my younger son and I had tested negative. The stigma continues to this day,” Mr.Vali said, adding “My elder son carried my mobile phone to the hospital, so I borrowed my neighbour’s old phone to use my SIM. Till now, I am unable to return the phone, as they have refused to open the doors for me. I tried to call, but they blocked my number.”
Each time Mr.Vali or his wife step out of home, the neighbours slam their doors shut, and upon any chance encounter at entry or exit points of the apartment complex, the aloofness is very stark to observe.
“The first reaction often is of shock. A recent tenant in the complex, oblivious to our status, was interacting on friendly terms, only till I revealed to him that my family had survived COVID-19. Later, he altogether stopped talking,” Mr.Vali says.
Far-reaching effect
Srinivas Rao, another patient whose entire family had tested positive, says their neighbours not only shunned them, but also spread the stigma far and wide.
“We are unable to find a domestic help, more than two months after testing positive, as nobody is willing to enter our house. A woman who had worked earlier recently walked by cautiously covering her nose. Such is the stigma that people are afraid even to greet us,” he shared.
At times, finding work becomes a problem for the COVID-recovered, because the earlier workplaces would not take them back.
“I was isolated for two weeks after testing positive, and returned to the workplace after being cured without much hassle. However, I was not allowed to continue there, and unceremoniously asked to leave despite several entreaties,” said Bahadur, who worked at a fast food joint in Musheerabad.
(Names changed to protect identity)
