COVID-19 fails to shake up this Telangana SHO’s morale

HYDERABAD: On June 20, the world came crashing down on Tappa Chabutra SHO G Santosh Kumar when he was told that he had tested positive for Covid-19.

The news, however, did not come as a surprise to him as Santosh Kumar, along with with several other police personnel, was on the frontline of the Covid-19 battle.

“I had a slight headache and was feeling weak,” Kumar, who has recovered from the disease, told Express.

“Initially, I did not think it was necessary to get treatment as it felt like a common cold and general fatigue. But after two days, when that feeling of sickness did not subside, I took leave from work and got myself tested. The results returned positive,” he said.

Thirty seven-year-old Santosh Kumar, a resident of Alwal, used to travel 50 km to and fro to the police station at Tappa Chabutra every day during the lockdown.

He, like other personnel, was deployed at crowded spots such as the Gudimalkapur market, exposing him to the risk of contracting Covid-19.

As an SHO, he also had to keep up the morale of the personnel working under him during the lockdown.

Santosh Kumar often had to visit containment zones to reassure citizens too amid the pandemic.

“After my results returned, I went into self-isolation and my family too got tested,” said the father of two daughters.

“When my two-year-old daughter tested positive, I got worried. She is just a child and does not understand what’s going on,” he said. The father and daughter spent the isolation period together.

“She recovered in five days. We got her tested again her results were negative. I, too, tested negative after a few days but was still weak for a long time,” he said.

At the police station, another personnel had tested positive and the numbers had shot up to 22, but everyone recovered.