KOLKATA: When Monami Biswas, a postgraduate management student at the University of Edinburgh, landed at the Mumbai airport from Scotland on March 16, she had a fever. After reaching Kolkata on the same day, she got herself tested. And her worst nightmare came true. Monami tested positive for coronavirus and was among the first confirmed cases in Bengal. The woman, in her early 20s, said she was shattered after receiving the results. After undergoing treatment at Beliaghata ID Hospital, she has now returned home to Habra in North 24-Parganas, about 55 km from Kolkata.
Now, she has a message for all, “Do not get scared. Don’t panic. Have faith in the doctors and our healthcare system.” Speaking about her diagnosis and treatment, she said: “I was scared. I thought that I would die. I repeatedly told the doctors that I wanted to live. I am grateful to the doctors for giving me mental support. The officials of the state health department were in touch with me every day.” Monami was offered counselling at the hospital.
“Doctors told me that all my health parameters were fine and they kept assuring me that I would make a full recovery. This encouraged me to relax and follow the diet prescribed by a dietician,” she said. Monami said her father and boyfriend faced harassment after she tested positive. “No one came to receive me. I returned home alone in an ambulance.
Doctors have advised self-quarantine for another two weeks. I request all coronavirus patients not to get scared. It is better to visit a doctor when symptoms such as fever and cough appear,” she said. Speaking about her time in quarantine at the hospital, Monami said that she watched a lot of movies on Netflix. “I saw a ray of hope when two results came negative.
I was looking forward to the third report. I was beaming when the doctors told me that my third test result was negative,” she told the newspaper over the phone. She stressed the importance of seeking timely help. “After landing in Kolkata, I could have gone home. But I decided to undergo a medical check-up because if I had coronavirus, I didn’t want to infect my family and friends,” said Monami.