West Bengal’s oldest survivor, family leave Covid nightmare behind

KOLKATA: Three elderly family members of 88-year-old Sarojini Mukherjee, the state’s oldest Covid-19 survivor, who had also contracted the novel coronavirus last month were declared cured on Wednesday. The Mukherjees could finally leave the horror of the disease behind after Sarojini’s elder son, younger daughter and younger son-inlaw were declared fit, based on the latest ICMR guideline, which does not require the second negative RT PCR test in absence of symptoms. A day after they got their fit certificate over WhatsApp, cops removed the guardrails from in front of their home on Thursday night.
“It’s a relief that all my family members are now fit. Also, my mother has got way better than she was 10 days ago. Today, she even had her favourite shukto. She has also started walking freely inside the house by herself. Today was the first time she could oil her hair by herself,” said Sarojini’s younger son, Subhabrata Mukherjee, currently stuck in Ahmedabad. Following a call from a state health department doctor, Mukherjee received a WhatsApp message, saying: “As per telephonic conversation with the patient party, the patients do not have any symptoms, like fever, cough, runny nose, respiratory distress. They seem to be fit, as per their statement. If any emergency or any kind of symptom arises, they are advised to attend MR Bangur Hospital.”
Sarojini became the state’s oldest novel coronavirus survivor last week, when she was wheeled out of MR Bangur Hospital after recovery. However, with her son, daughter and sonin-law testing positive and confined to different floors of their four-storey home, and extended families being kept in isolation, she had to reach home by herself in a hospital ambulance. She did have a tough time carrying out chores without much help. “My brother and sister couldn’t have contracted the virus from my mother but they possibly did from a Kasba hotel, where they were sent in quarantine. Once they tested positive, they were sent home. When my mother was discharged from hospital, everyone had to be very careful and ensure she stayed away from the others. My elder sister, who is not infected and lives on a separate floor, arranged for food for everyone,” said Mukherjee.
The family now hopes the social ostrasization would be a thing of the past. “My elder sister and her family hadn’t contracted the disease but were harassed. The garbage collector didn’t collect our waste. We had no means to even get daily essentials. Even relatives had started distancing themselves,” said Mukherjee, who made frantic calls for assistance. Finally, help arrived in the form of a state-appointed caregiver and a local driver, who agreed to supply essentials. “Now that everyone has been declared cured, hopefully, the worst is over,” he said.
An officer from the Anandapur police station said, “The family still needs to stay in home isolation for the next two weeks. If the family needs any help, they can always contact us.”