A year on, 27-year old recalls the stigma she faced on being Haryana’s ‘Patient Zero’

In a society that puts a lot of onus on being “numero uno (number one)”, the stigma of being “Patient Zero” and that too of a dreaded disease like Covid-19 was life-altering for a 27-year-old resident of Sector 9, Gurugram

In a society that puts a lot of onus on being “numero uno (number one)”, the stigma of being “Patient Zero” and that too of a dreaded disease like Covid-19 was life-altering for a 27-year-old resident of Sector 9, Gurugram.

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A year ago, on March 13, she became the first known case of Covid-19 in the district as well as the state of Haryana. “In the early days of the pandemic, patients faced more stigma than they do now,” she says, while recalling her personal struggle with the pandemic.

On Friday, a day when the Gurugram district reported nearly 60,000 Covid-19 cases, the 27-year-old looked spoke about how she coped -- with the shoddy surroundings of government hospitals, the constant nagging by people around her, and the stigma she had to face even months after being fully recovered

“The stigma is now inversely proportional to the number of cases -- the more the cases, the lesser the stigma. Earlier, even a few months after recovery, I had to limit my evening walks as people who knew me looked at me differently. Although I used to wear a mask, I still felt that people were frightened of me. But, I don’t feel stigmatised now when I walk around.”

Her diagnosis on March 13 marked the beginning of the pandemic in the district and the state. None of her family members tested positive but new cases from different parts of the city started emerging every day since March 13.

On March 12 itself, when her sample was sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, the Haryana government declared an epidemic in the state and issued a set of guidelines, “The Haryana Epidemic Disease, Covid-19 Regulations, 2020”. Within a few days, gatherings were limited, malls shut, small businesses closed and normal life, as we knew it , came to a standstill.

For the woman, it all started with a vacation that she took with her cousin to Malaysia and Indonesia on February 22. A few days after returning home on March 4, she noticed the onset of symptoms like fever and cold. Her samples were collected on March 12 and she was confirmed Covid-19 positive within 24 hours.

“I still don’t know how and where I contracted the disease,” she says. “That night, the health team visited our home, asking me to get admitted to the Civil Hospital. Two policemen were also put on guard outside my house,” she recalls.

The next morning, she along with her mother reached the Civil Hospital in Sector 10 to get admitted.“There was no hospital staff to take care of my needs in the Covid ward. I was totally on my own. It was particularly frightened when I saw rats in the ward. I called my mother and asked her to get me out of there,” she said. The next day, she was admitted to a private hospital.

“My mother was the rock upon which I relied throughout the entire episode. She kept me mentally strong,” she says.

The way events unfolded affected her family too. “Our contact details were leaked and circulated on every WhatsApp group. My parents and I got calls from unknown numbers to confirm the news. Even neighbours harassed us by constantly asking about our well-being,” she said.

The news and social media feeds made her more apprehensive.“I took a break from social media and limited my interaction to a few people related to work,” she said, adding that it took her months to be active on social media again.

“Over time, with increasing awareness about the disease, the anxiety went away. But I still see people ignoring the safety guidelines in public spaces and that makes me nervous,” she says.

Now that the vaccination is well underway, she believes that life will get back to normal soon. But she is not yet eligible for the vaccination. “I will take it when it is available for people of my age. Nobody in my family has taken the vaccine yet. But until we achieve herd immunity, we will continue to wear masks,” she says.