RANIPET: While people are fretting and trembling out of fear of the surge in COVID-19 cases, those in isolation wards seem to be cool. They are counting days of the mandatory quarantine period before they step out after recovery.
A 24-year-old man, hailing from Melvisharam in Ranipet district, was the first to test positive in the district. With a travel history to Dubai, the youngster visited a local private hospital with fever. He was then referred to the Government District Headquarters Hospital at Walajapet on March 23. Subsequently, his tests came out positive.
A team of doctors attended to him at the isolation treatment facility, where a few more joined him later.
The man was discharged from the hospital on Friday after two tests, in a gap of seven days turned negative.
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“People outside are gripped by fear of corona, and press the panic button. But, in fact, nothing is there to worry about. Just in quarantine, either at home or hospital is enough to beat the infections,” he says.
However, remaining at the isolation treatment facility is having a debilitating effect on the mind.
“Loneliness is grueling. It is very hard to pass every day within the four walls of the isolation wards,” he notes.
Mobilephone comes handy to beat the boredom. The young man, running a business and had spent 36 days in Dubai, told Express, “With video call and WhatsApp, I could keep in touch with my family members and friends frequently. It helped me overcome the sense of loneliness.”
He was a given a standing ovation as the ambulance began to move out of the hospital premises.
“The doctors, nurses and other hospital staff treated me well. They provided excellent care, the food was also good,” the young businessman states.
He touched down on Chennai Airport on March 17 and reached home on the same day, but developed symptoms in the subsequent days before approaching a local corporate hospital on March 23, wherefrom moved to the Govt District Headquarters Hospital.
What he wants to tell other patients is: “stay home, keep cool and beat the virus infection.”