Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, May 3: The COVID-19 patients, who have been cured, are reportedly facing stigma in Kashmir.
A leading Srinagar based doctor on Sunday said: “Unfortunate that recovered COVID-19 patients are being stigmatized by the society and are denied basic amenities. Please treat them as normal.”
According to the authorities nearly 200 people have been cured in Kashmir and have been sent home. “The cured patients can live their lives normally. There is nothing to worry. People who are stigmatizing the patients who have recovered should bear it in mind that COVID-19 can attack anyone as it makes no distinction between class, creed and colour when it strikes,” said another doctor.
He said, “All of us need to bear in mind that these are testing times and we have to support each other rather than indulging in such acts which will make our heads hang in shame.”
Till date COVID-19 has killed seven persons in Kashmir and one in Jammu’s Udhampur district. “The death rate has not been that high and things are very much under control. People who are testing positive are recuperating. So, its just a matter of time before we get rid of this deadly virus,” said an analyst.
He said, “The decision of the administration to declare all ten districts in Kashmir as Red Zone indicates that there is no other way to keep this virus at bay.”
The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P K Pole on Saturday said, “We can’t afford to lower guard at this time. Such measures are also important because all the districts have Red Zones and the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing. We also need to be watchful due to the return of Kashmiris stranded outside the Valley.”
The analyst said, “The people who are stigmatizing the cured patients should realize that scientists are presently working on plasma therapy which they believe can prove helpful in saving lives. This plasma has to come from the people who have fought COVID-19 and have recovered. So how can they be untouchables?”
Recently, Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, announced that the plasma therapy is showing positive results and it has helped in saving lives. He urged people who have recovered from the COVID-19 to come forward and donate plasma. Members of Tablighi Jamaat, who were stigmatized by a section of media after the COVID-19 spread in the country, made a beeline outside the hospitals to donate their plasma to save the lives of victims.
COVID-19 : In testing times cured patients face stigma
