Palamu DC sets up special committee to fight Covid stigma

Daltonganj: In a unique move, deputy commissioner Sashi Ranjan on Saturday set up a special committee to prevent the societal discrimination or ostracization that a person cured of Covid-19 faces.
The DC said, “There is a need to tell people that more love, more respect and more affection should be given to those who have defeated Covid-19, instead of looking down upon them.”
The committee members, comprising civil society campaigners, will visit the villages to honour those cured of the infection and encourage the locals to love and respect them.
The DC said, “Those cured of the infection share such horrid experiences with us. Recently, I heard of an incident in Satbarwa block where a young man, who was cured of the infection, was out for a walk near his house when his neighbours rebuked him and asked him to stay indoors. This misbehaviour towards a recovered person needs to stop.”
In another development, the DC informed that by using the special central assistance, the district administration is buying 200 beds amid a spike in cases. Civil surgeon John F Kennedy said, “Once the consignment of 200 beds reaches here, we will send 10 beds each to our 10 community health centres in the district.”
As of Saturday morning, Palamu had 425 Covid-19 cases, of which 186 were active.