Frontline Covid warriors: At risk of contracting virus, ambulance drivers feel duty-bound to ferry patients
In Jalandhar district, where the second highest number of positive cases (38 till Friday) has been reported in Punjab, more than 30 ambulance drivers, including retired army personnel, performed their duty with zeal in the fight against the disease
Ambulance drivers ferrying patients from their homes to hospitals and vice versa are among the frontline soldiers in the battle against Covid-19 who are at a high risk of contracting the disease.
But for many in Punjab’s coronavirus hotspots that’s hardly a deterrent as they are leaving no stone unturned in performing their duty round the clock.
Bhupinder Singh (55) and Udham Singh, both Punjab Roadways drivers, were directed to report to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar civil surgeon’s office on March 20 and were deployed on ambulance service in Punjab’s first virus containment zone of 15 villages, including Pathlawa.
It was Pathlawa resident Baldev Singh (70), a preacher, who became Punjab’s first coronavirus casualty and had infected at least 27 persons, including 14 of his family
Bhupinder says though it was really risky amid a sense of fear, especially in the initial days, he didn’t give up as someone needed to take charge of the situation to win the war against the pandemic.
“It was heart-wrenching to see Covid-19 positive patients crying in the ambulance. But I chose to perform my duty by taking proper precautions. We regularly sanitised the ambulance after dropping the patients and wore personal protection equipment (PPE) kits. But still, the risk of infection remained there,” adds Bhupinder, who joined the roadways in 1997.
“I do not enter my house without taking a bath and put my clothes in hot water. It is a matter of great satisfaction that there is no case in SBS Nagar district for many days (since March 26),” he says.
Udham, who was tasked with transporting patients from Sujjon and Jhikka villages in the containment zone, says, “It was a challenge. I would sanitise myself and my helper. My children motivated me to perform my duty in the fight against Covid-19.”
In Jalandhar district, where the second highest number of positive cases (38 till Friday) has been reported in Punjab, more than 30 ambulance drivers, including retired army personnel, performed their duty with zeal in the fight against the disease.
Jasbir Singh, an ambulance driver at the civil hospital, says, “Our men are performing their duty like soldiers to secure people and contribute to the fight.”
Sukhwinder Singh and Kamaljit Singh started working as ambulance drivers after they retired from the army. Kamaljit, who joined the health department in 2013, says they have to be strong amid the pandemic as they have a great responsibility on their shoulders.
Jeevan Ram, a temporary driver with the Punjab roadways, is stationed along with six other transport department drivers in the civil hospital, says he is proud for having contributed to the cause.