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Telangana Covid-19 patient builds himself an isolation bed on tree
Kotha Nandikonda is a very small village with a population of about 1,000 residents and has no isolation centre for Covid-19 patients.
An 18-year-old tribal student from Telangana’s Nalgonda district, who tested positive for Covid-19 on May 4, built himself a makeshift isolation chamber atop a tree-- where he stayed put for 12 days-- to protect his family from the virus since his family house didn’t have a separate room to quarantine him.
Ramavath Shiva from Kotha Nandikonda village is a first-year BA student at Patancheru in Sangareddy district. He returned home last month due to the pandemic and was helping his family since then by enrolling himself under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
“On May 4 evening, I tested positive for Covid-19 and doctors advised me to stay at home in isolation with due precautions. But there is hardly any space in my small house, where I have been staying with my parents and sister,” Shiva said.
After spending the first night outside the house, Shiva stumbled upon the idea of building a makeshift accommodation on the tree in front of his house. He moved his charpoy to the tree and tied it to its branches with ropes.
“It was very comfortable for me. My parents used to keep breakfast, lunch and dinner on a chair placed near the tree and I used to come down to eat. Except for attending to nature’s call, I did not leave the tree during my isolation period,” Shiva said.
Kotha Nandikonda is a very small village with a population of about 1,000 residents and has no isolation centre for Covid-19 patients. Though there is a primary health centre about five kilometres away, it has no facilities to accommodate any patients.
“I was told a hostel meant for Scheduled Tribe students at Adavi Devulapalli block headquarters was converted into an isolation centre on May 13. But by that time, I had already finished eight days in isolation on the tree. Moreover, no villager came to see me fearing Covid-19,” Shiva said, adding he was not aware if any other person in the village was affected by the virus.
Village sarpanch Balu Naik could not be contacted for his comment.
Shiva said he spent his time reading books, listening to songs on his mobile and even talking to his friends. “There is no need to panic because of Covid-19. You can conquer it with your positive thinking,” he said.
On Monday, he alighted from his “isolation ward” on the tree, as he was feeling better. “I am going to the health centre to get tested. Hope it will be negative for the virus,” he said.
