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Covid warriors overcome the odds to fight virus in Haryana
From a DC who personally monitors oxygen supply to a nurse who serves in the Covid ward after defeating the virus twice and a doctor in isolation coordinating the district’s health response, they lead by example
Frontline workers from administrative officials to medical staff are leading by example as they battle the Covid-19 pandemic in Haryana. Some got infected, while others lost relatives to coronavirus but that has only strengthened their resolve.
Chairing a meeting of the Rewari district administration last week, Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh appreciated the work done by deputy commissioner Yashendra Singh despite having lost two relatives to Covid.
Yashendra Singh resumed office on April 30 after training when the district was in the grip of oxygen supply shortage. Four patients at a private hospital had lost their lives due to the shortage of oxygen cylinders. Singh has since been personally monitoring the distribution of cylinders to hospitals in the district.
“I have assured doctors that no patient will die in hospital due to shortage of oxygen. I hold coordination meetings at night too and have started home delivery of oxygen cylinders,” he says. Last week, the demand for oxygen increased in Rewari, prompting him to arrange 120 cylinders from Rohtak, 30 each from Gurugram, Mahendragarh and Faridabad districts after coordinating with his counterparts.
FACE OF RESILIENCE, SHE SETS AN EXAMPLE
Priyanka, a staff nurse at Rohtak’s Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, is another face of a resilient Covid warrior. She returned to duty at the Covid ward with a smile on Sunday after defeating coronavirus for the second time.
The past three weeks were the toughest for the young mother after she tested positive.
“There was no one else at home to look after my two children, both of whom are aged below 10 years, till my husband, a soldier, took leave to be with us after five days. I was confined to one room and the children to another. My in-laws wanted to come from our native village in Bhiwani, but I didn’t want to put them at risk. My husband and I remained away from the children even though we stayed in the same building,” she said.
IN ISOLATION BUT CONNECTED
Jhajjar civil surgeon Dr Sanjay Dahiya has been isolation ever since he developed Covid symptoms, but that hasn’t stopped him from coordinating from a room at the PWD rest house in Beri.
“Though 264 employees of the 1,635 health department employees in Jhajjar contracted the virus, services have remained unaffected. A commander is as good as his army and I want to thank my team for rising to the occasion,” says Dr Dahiya.
The civil surgeon and his wife, Dr Pamila, who is also a government doctor, had gone home in Gurugram in the beginning April, but had never imagined that they would be battling such a situation.
“We have a 23-year-old daughter who is looking after my elderly parents as we work in isolation. She makes it a point to make a video call at 11.30pm every night. My mother is concerned about us, but she wants us to continue our duty,” he says.
