BHUBANESWAR : Amid the gloom over precious lives lost to Covid-19 comes the story of a police inspector couple which faced the worst and yet prevailed over the virus. Rashmita Jena (37), an inspector posted with Bhubaneswar urban police district’s Investigation Unit on Crimes against Women (IUCAW) tested positive for coronavirus on April 28.
What came as a shock for Rashmita and her husband, Pramod Kumar Pattnaik, the IIC of Tamando police station, was their two daughters, aged 1.7 and 7 years too contracted the disease. Rashmita got infected after she visited the court here on April 26 in connection with a case registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. In the evening, she complained of severe body ache and was rushed to Capital Hospital by Pramod on April 27. She tested positive a day later and became unconscious on April 30 at a healthcare facility where she had gone for a blood test.
Even as Rashmita was admitted to a dedicated Covid hospital in the city, her oxygen level hovered around 89 and 90. “I was under tremendous psychological stress. I was concerned about my daughters especially the younger one as I was breast feeding her,” she said. A team of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials visited Rashmita’s quarters in Unit-II on May 1 to test Pramod and the couple’s elder daughter. While Pramod tested negative, his daughter was found to be infected.
“It was not possible to conduct the test on our younger daughter but she had all symptoms of the disease,” said Pramod. With Rashmita in hospital, Pramod took care of his daughters at home. “My parents and in-laws do not stay in Bhubaneswar and it was not possible for them to come here due to the pandemic. I just kept thinking about my daughters but my husband managed everything,” Rashmita said.
The family’s ordeal finally ended on May 5 after Rashmita was discharged from the hospital. She is under home isolation now. “I have recovered and my daughters’ health is fine too,” she said. In another instance, a 52-year-old ASI, Sukant Kumar Behera, tested positive and was admitted to a dedicated Covid hospital in the city on April 29. A diabetic, Behera’s fasting blood glucose level was 180 mg/dl.
He had fever and vomited frequently. The ASI was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) but recovered soon enough. He was discharged from the hospital on May 5 and is currently under home isolation.
Police personnel, who are on the forefront of the fight against coronavirus are susceptible to the virus owing to their nature of duty. However, most already fully vaccinated, the number of personnel contracting the virus has come down substantially from last year. Most of those infected have also recovered and resumed duty.