More on Covid-19

KOTTAYAM: The four Covid-19 patients in the isolation ward of the Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kottayam, find relief in talking to the nursing staff who attend to them. However, the three male nurses who voluntarily opted to do this duty, which most of their colleagues avoided, are not battling just a pandemic but also social stigma.On Thursday, they were politely told by their landlord about the landlord’s family’s concerns about their presence at the house. Though the trio, all in their early 30s, got temporary accommodation in the hospital, they doubt that anybody will provide them a place to stay.“Our house owner’s wife told us on Thursday morning that their relatives and neighbours have raised concerns about her husband’s health as we were staying there,” said one of them.“She said that there was no medicine for Covid-19. We have been staying there since the deluge of 2018 and maintained a good relationship with them. So, considering their fear, we decided to move out,” said the 31-year-old Pathanamthitta native.After moving out, they apprised the MCH authorities of the situation. They alleged that the Medical College principal initially said he could not arrange any accommodation for them. They then had to run after the authorities to find a temporary place to sleep. Later, they were allotted two rooms on the same floor where the isolation ward functions. They then met the MCH superintendent, Dr T K Jayakumar, who promised them staff quarters for two weeks. The quarters, currently dilapidated is expected be readied soon.“This is a difficult situation. We have voluntarily taken up this duty. We are extending all support to the state government in its fight against the disease. But when in need, we are left on our own. By now everyone in the locality has identified us. Who will give us accommodation after two weeks,” asked the youth who has been a staff nurse at the MCH for the past eight years.Meanwhile, the house owner’s wife said she had never asked them to vacate. “I just shared the concern raised by my daughter, who is a nurse in London, and another close relative, who is a nurse in Italy. They raised apprehensions about the health of my husband, who had undergone bypass surgery four months ago. They told us that Covid-19 is dangerous for old and sick persons,” said the 54-year-old woman.Her husband, who is around 60, is a retired Navy officer. “We can’t ask them (nurses) to move out all of a sudden. They have been staying here for over one and a half years,” she added.Meanwhile, Indira P G, nursing officer, MCH, said the nursing staff are under constant stress and they not only need the support of their families but also of society. “Society should realise what the world would be like if none of the nurses wanted to work in such situations,” she said.District collector P K Sudheer Babu said necessary action has been taken to mitigate the plight of the nurses. “The MCH authorities have arranged temporary stay for them,” he said. He also said he has directed the MCH superintendent to check the possibility of providing them accommodation on the hospital premises itself.