COVID-19 positive woman flees fearing social stigma in Tamil Nadu's Tenkasi

TENKASI: Tenkasi police are on the lookout for a woman Covid patient who allegedly absconded from her house after being tested positive for the disease. 

The police booked the 37-year-old woman under Sections 270 and 271 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint filed by Tenkasi Commissioner in-charge K S Hasina. 

“The woman’s swab sample was collected for RT-PCR Test on September 28; she tested positive for Covid on September 30. She locked her house and absconded before health officials could reach her house to take her to a hospital. Her mobile phone remains switched off for the past four days. We are trying to find her so that she does not infect others,” said the police.

Sources said the woman, fearing the social stigma associated with Covid, is now at a relative’s house in Virudhunagar.

When TNIE contacted, a Tenkasi Municipality official said the municipality filed a complaint only to save her from the disease but not to bring disgrace to her.

‘Create awareness’

A Tenkasi-based activist said spreading awareness against social stigma associated with the disease and making the government hospitals patient-friendly would make the Covid patients approach the hospitals without hesitation