Keep the faith: Message from Covid-19 patients who recovered

TNN | Updated: Apr 14, 2020, 15:06 IST

GURUGRAM: In an attempt to infuse some positivity and hope in people amid growing concerns over Covid-19, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday interacted with five patients who have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, in a televised address. Two of these patients were from Gurugram.
While one had a history of foreign travel, the other did not and could have been a case of a local source, although the Haryana government maintains that the state is still in stage two of spread.
Manu Vaisya, 40, a resident of Nirvana Country, developed symptoms shortly after returning from the UK in the first week of March.
“At that time, the UK didn’t have many cases, nor was it in the list of hotspots. And, the screening at the airport didn’t reveal anything serious. But within the next 24 hours, I got a fever and had the test done without wasting any time. The initial tests were positive and I got admitted in Safdarjung hospital. Around March 25, I tested negative and on March 27, I was back home,” Vaisya told TOI.
The other recovered resident is 45-year-old Kapil Chopra who lives in Sector 28. Unlike Vaisya, he had not travelled abroad nor had he come in contact with anyone with travel history. He tested positive on April 2. “On March 22, I had flu symptoms and took normal medications. Few days later, I got admitted in the hospital where I tested positive. How I got infected remains a mystery to me and my family,” Chopra said while sharing his story with TOI.
Both the patients claimed that the state government and administration officials were in touch with them regularly for updates on their health. They urged people to keep faith and practise strict social distancing as it continues to be the best preventive measure.
Speaking about their experiences, both Vaisya and Chopra appreciated the government’s and administration’s response mechanism to the pandemic. However, there were some underlying complaints too, especially about the containment plans and its results.
The CM also urged the people to utilise this quarantine time wisely and disseminate positive energy. During this address, Khattar noted that the ongoing efforts to grapple with the pandemic are having serious economic repercussions on people, especially farmers, labourers, and small shopkeepers. And that, the government is serious in trying to mitigate the crisis.
Meanwhile, on Monday the CM hinted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could announce lockdown extension on Tuesday and that cities like Gurugram that are in red zone need to practise social distancing till things settle down.