Under normal circumstances, no person other than healthcare professionals are allowed inside a COVID-19 isolation ward. However, the plight of three children who had tested positive for the infection and had been separated from their mother — as she had tested negative — has forced the Dharwad district administration to allow the woman to stay with her children on humanitarian grounds.
In the first COVID-19 case reported in Hubballi, a 27-year-old businessman who had returned to Hubballi from a business trip had tested positive and subsequently his brother (P-236) and his brother’s three children tested positive. However, the mother of the children tested negative, and being a primary contact, she was quarantined, while the children were shifted to the isolation ward.
While one boy is three-and-a-half years old (P-234), another is five years old (P-233), and eldest girl (P-235) is seven. All of them are now lodged in the isolation ward of the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) along with their father.
The 32-year-old mother of the children had petitioned the doctors at KIMS and also the Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad to allow her to stay with her children. After discussing the matter with the senior doctors of KIMS, the Deputy Commissioner, Deepa M., has allowed the mother to stay with her children.
‘Precautions taken’
Meanwhile, KIMS authorities have clarified that all precautions have been taken to ensure that the mother is safe. She has been trained and provided with all protective wear, mask and gloves. “She cannot wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) continuously. So we have asked her to always wear mask and gloves and maintain safety guidelines. She too is being tested regularly,” said KIMS director Ramalingappa Antaratani.
