KOCHI: The live link between a Covid care centre and a person under home quarantine, ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers have been lifesavers for the majority of those who eventually tested positive for Covid-19. At the same time, these grassroot workers at the frontline have also been a source of comfort to those awaiting normalcy in their homes.
However, over the past few weeks, cases have risen exponentially with the entry of Non-Residential Keralites (NRK), divided across institutional and home quarantine. For the 2,375 ASHA workers in the district, undeniably work increased over the last one month, yet spirits are high. Albeit, are there sufficient workers to deal with the rising and an unpredictable number of cases? Express examines.
ASHA worker Siby Sajeev in Ward 12, South Paravoor, has been working in the field since 2009. Even though her work has increased multi-fold in the past two months, she says that the rigorous training provided to these workers has kept them afloat in the past two months. “I do have a few NRKs in my ward currently in home quarantine. Unlike previous times, many of them have arrived with medicines and daily necessities, so I do not have to procure them. If the workload increases, we receive help from Kudumbashree workers to a small extent. For now, I have another ASHA worker in the same ward to help share duties,” she says.
Away from the suburbs, ASHA worker Shiny Mathew in Ward 43, Palarivattom, says that she drops everything when she receives a call. “Even though I began my tenure as an ASHA worker in February, the trying circumstances have amped up my performance. In comparison to the last month, we’re being informed of arrivals a day or two before. Once the person has arrived and is in home quarantine, their details are given to the respective counsellors. I don’t think I’m anxious about the workload because this is a matter of saving lives,” she says.
As per the norm, every ward requires the presence of one ASHA worker while every worker handles around 2,500 people under the Corporation limits. Are more workers being recruited to handle the rising number of cases? “No. We haven’t taken new ASHA workers purely owing to the pandemic. They have been trained in everything, ranging from immunisation to providing help with preventive measures in communicable diseases. However, over the past two months, we have told them to focus more on Covid-19 activities than their usual work,” says Sajana C Narayanan, ASHA coordinator, National Rural Health Mission.
Effective planning is what keeps the network strong and reliable. “As work has been divided accordingly, it hasn’t been a huge concern as to how we’ll be dealing with the increasing number of persons in home quarantine. We’ve even had former ASHA workers returning to their jobs. Understandably, due to the circumstances, everyone does have extra hours of duty. ASHA workers receive a special incentive of `1,000 for their work in the frontlines of the pandemic,” she adds.
The fact that people arrive in batches and are in quarantine only for 14 days, is another factor for less work, according to N K Kuttappan, District Medical Officer. “Even though they need to procure the required materials and medicines for those in home quarantine, the duty of ASHA workers is mostly restricted to phone calls owing to the nature of the virus. Moreover, by the time the next batch for home quarantine arrives, the older ones have already returned to normalcy. ASHA workers and healthcare workers have been able to manage, owing to this balance. We have been recruiting a few workers in various other categories, though. However, there could be additional pressure on these workers when other communicable diseases arise,” he says.
The ‘sophisticated jail’
Whiling away time during the quarantine isn’t easy. Lack of human contact, both by sight and touch, can take a toll on one’s health. Murali Krishna, who arrived in Kochi from Mumbai seven days ago, calls his quarantine room a ‘sophisticated jail’. Currently, on his seventh day of institutional quarantine at the Airport Golf View Hotel in Nedumbassery, the head of Investments and Strategy, Kolte-Patil Developers Ltd, tries to divert futile thoughts by working as usual. Along with it, he often pens notes titled the ‘Virus Diaries’ on his Facebook page.
“It can be claustrophobic, solely being within four walls without seeing other people. I haven’t seen the person who provides food. I place my order and before I open my door, the person has vanished -- just the food remains. The only person I saw after the first three days was a man who cleaned my room,” Murali says. As per the norm, Murali receives calls from the Health Department and the police. “They’ve been checking on me and enquiring about symptoms.
I’ve also received calls from the Mental Health Centre to probe about my state of mind and if I’ve had any anxiety or emotional attacks. Fortunately, my work is keeping me sane,” he says. Murali added that there was a deep-seated fear among people to welcome those arriving from Mumbai, as Maharashtra has the highest number of cases.