A house in Pippinmoodu in the city, where all three of the family members had tested positive for COVID-19, had an unusual visitor, who seemed to have not been scared of contracting the virus.
The family noticed on Monday noon that a Cobra had made its way into their bathroom. Reflecting the pandemic times that we are living in, it needed a snake rescuer in a PPE kit to get the snake out from the house, much to the relief of the patients there.
As soon as the family members noticed the snake in their bathroom, they informed the local rapid response team volunteer Sreekuttan, who called up the COVID-19 control room set up at V.K.Prasanth MLA’s office.
The MLA’s office soon informed licensed snake rescuer R.Baavan about the situation. While the team waited for his arrival from the district’s outskirts, the control room got another call from the same household that the blood sugar level of one of the family members was suddenly dropping.
When Baavan reached the house, the medical team provided him with a PPE kit. Since a bathroom being used by COVID-19 patients is a space from where there is more chance of virus spread, extreme caution had to be taken. Accompanying him to the house was a doctor to check on the patient whose blood sugar levels had dropped.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr.Baavan said that it was his first experience of catching a snake while wearing a PPE kit.
“I was naturally apprehensive of going into a household, where three COVID-19 patients were residing. Ever since the pandemic struck, I take up assignments only selectively, ensuring safety. But, I decided to take this up since these patients are helpless with a Cobra in their bathroom. Also, the PPE kit provided by the medical team gave me the confidence to go in. Before I entered, they shifted from their room to another one. Since it was a small, three-month old Cobra, I did not have much difficulty in catching it,” said Mr.Baavan, one of the licensed snake rescuers of the Forest Department. The Cobra was later handed over to the Forest Department.
