CHENNAI: Having just recovered from COVID-19, P Kumar was back on his tricycle on Sunday collecting garbage from the city streets, even as he fears contracting the virus again and putting his family in danger for the second time.
The 42-year-old has been a conservancy worker for over 22 years now. "Ever since the lockdown, I was assigned two streets in Purasaiwalkam where I would visit every house on my tricycle and collect garbage," he said.
By April end, he was assigned an additional street in Otteri to collect garbage which fell under the containment zone, he said adding, "I was provided with a mask and gloves but they were of little help. For three days continuously, I collected garbage even from a house where a family had tested positive and it was transferred to the truck which was later burnt," said Kumar.
Working from 6:30 am to 1 pm in the soaring summer heat with the mask and gloves was difficult. "We keep sweating and tend to touch our faces unintentionally which puts us at risk," says Kumar.
Within days, he began coughing and was having congestion in his chest when he decided to get tested for the virus. On May 6, he tested positive and subsequently his entire family including his wife, son, daughter, daughter-in-law and nine-month-old grandson were also found to have contracted the virus.
The family moved to Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital where they were quarantined for ten days before being sent back for home quarantine.
"It was scary for our entire family. In the hospital, we did not get milk for the baby. And recently, the mother had stopped breastfeeding and the baby had to depend on packet milk. We had to inform a relative who would bring it every day to the hospital and hand it over to the security guard. It was not easy to manage with a nine-month-old baby," recalls Kumar.
Home quarantine was made traumatic by the stigma from neighbours, he said, adding, "My son and daughter-in-law stayed in the same street just two houses away from ours. But, even if we peeped outside to check on them, our neighbours would immediately pick up fights. My son's friend would buy vegetables and other groceries for us and place it at our doorstep during the quarantine," he adds.
Though he and his entire family recovered, he fears reinfection. "The fear is still there every time I stop at a house to collect garbage. I fear that I will put my family through the same danger again. But I am left with no other option as they depend on my salary," says Kumar.
"As the weather worsens, I try my best not to touch my face. I wash my mask everyday. Before reaching home my wife keeps a bucket of water outside to ensure I bathe and only then enter the house but the fear is still strong," says Kumar.