Covid keeps mom-daughter locked in for 3 years

KAKINADA: When the pandemic struck in March 2020, K Mani, 44, and her 21-year-old daughter K Durga Bhavani sequestered themselves in a small room of their home at Kuyyeru village of Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada district. They never ventured out since, hadn't seen sunlight, or met anyone outside their family in the past three years - for fear of catching the virus.
They even refused to see Mani's husband K Suri Babu the past four months, even when he brought them food. He alerted authorities after he heard them screaming.
Police and health officials broke open the door on Tuesday and found them huddled and covered with blankets in a corner of the room. They were coaxed out of the room after several hours of persuasion, and shifted to Kakinada government hospital.
Doctors said they are evaluating the women's mental and physical condition. "They are physically stable. We have kept them under the supervision of a psychiatrist," said Dr Hema Latha.
Psychiatrist Dr Rami Reddy said the women have been suffering from schizophrenia and were being treated for seven years, but the fear of Covid may have heightened the disease.
Suri Babu, a vegetable vendor, said it all began with him telling the women to wear masks and stay indoors in the early days of the pandemic. They locked themselves in the room after hearing about the deaths wrought by Covid, he said.
Durga, according to police, would read religious scriptures and believed that someone was doing witchery to kill her and her family.