At his flat in the police quarters, Prasanna Kumar wakes up to sounds of colleagues driving out and water tankers moving in. At the Mahanadi hostel on the IIT-M campus, where he has been quarantined since testing positive for Covid-19, he is stirred by birds chirping at his window and the sight of spotted deer grazing on an expanse of green below.
It is invigorating, says the Tamil Nadu special police (TSP) constable of the scene he has until now seen only in movies. “At 5.30am, a layer of fog wraps the area. I can see busy birds and insects, and restless ants rushing forward in queues,” says the Ramanathapuram native.
One of the relatively newer hostels on the 650-acre campus, the 650-room building became a corona care centre after the authorities determined the near perfect atmosphere would prove a natural relaxant. It now hosts 207 police personnel and 40 others including doctors and government officials looked after by 32 doctors and 65 nurses from Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital.
Every day, a team of corporation workers sanitizes the rooms and periphery of the hostel. The quarantined people are allowed to move around the hostel, but they prefer to remain in their 10x10 rooms, each with a steel cot, bed, a ceiling fan, table and a chair.
Police commissioner A K Viswanathan has bought at least 500 books, mostly belonging to fiction and non-fiction genres, for the patients, while Kotturpuram assistant commissioner K N Sundaresan ensures the food provided is as per the diet chart created by state health department officials and medical experts.
“It’s like a second home,” says subinspector S Kabilan, a patient. “As soon as I open the window, the cold wind soothes my body and I can watch the movements of deer. It feels nice.”
If any of the patients tests negative for the coronavirus infection continuously for the fourth day or fifth day, he/ she is allowed to return home and remain under self-quarantine for a further period of time. Those without adequate space at home will remain at the quarantine centre until the medical examiner discharges them.
It is invigorating, says the Tamil Nadu special police (TSP) constable of the scene he has until now seen only in movies. “At 5.30am, a layer of fog wraps the area. I can see busy birds and insects, and restless ants rushing forward in queues,” says the Ramanathapuram native.
One of the relatively newer hostels on the 650-acre campus, the 650-room building became a corona care centre after the authorities determined the near perfect atmosphere would prove a natural relaxant. It now hosts 207 police personnel and 40 others including doctors and government officials looked after by 32 doctors and 65 nurses from Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital.
Every day, a team of corporation workers sanitizes the rooms and periphery of the hostel. The quarantined people are allowed to move around the hostel, but they prefer to remain in their 10x10 rooms, each with a steel cot, bed, a ceiling fan, table and a chair.
Police commissioner A K Viswanathan has bought at least 500 books, mostly belonging to fiction and non-fiction genres, for the patients, while Kotturpuram assistant commissioner K N Sundaresan ensures the food provided is as per the diet chart created by state health department officials and medical experts.
“It’s like a second home,” says subinspector S Kabilan, a patient. “As soon as I open the window, the cold wind soothes my body and I can watch the movements of deer. It feels nice.”
If any of the patients tests negative for the coronavirus infection continuously for the fourth day or fifth day, he/ she is allowed to return home and remain under self-quarantine for a further period of time. Those without adequate space at home will remain at the quarantine centre until the medical examiner discharges them.
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