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Odisha Tribal woman not allowed in her home a day after delivery due to Covid stigma
The villagers forced authorities to put the woman into a quarantine centre instead of letting her stay at home.
In another case of stigmatisation associated with coronavirus, a tribal woman who delivered a baby girl in a quarantine centre in Odisha was not allowed to enter her home by villagers over fears that she may be carrying the infection.
Suffering labour pains, the tribal migrant worker walked over 25 km to reach a quarantine centre near her village in Balasore district and delivered a baby girl there on late Wednesday night. Upon her return home on Thursday, instead of a welcome, she was greeted by vehement protests by villagers who feared she may have contracted coronavirus.
The 32-year-old tribal woman working in Bengal had hopped onto a bus on Wednesday that dropped her at Soro town of Balasore district. From there, the pregnant woman walked 25 km to reach the quarantine centre running at Oupada block of the district. As she went into labour, the local administration sent the doctor of the local primary health centre to assist her in delivery. After she delivered a baby girl at the centre, the doctor advised her to be quarantined at her home.
However, when the woman reached her home in Patharpada village in Oupada block, the locals strongly resisted her entry and demanded that she be put in quarantine. “The local people said they would not allow her to enter as she has come from Bengal, a Covid hotspot. As there was no other way, the woman was quarantined in another centre where she would have a little more privacy,” said Dr Jitendra Behera of Oupada primary health centre.
The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19
In another incident, a 12-year-old girl of Angul district was prevented from entering her home when she returned from Bhubaneswar, once declared a Covid hotspot, which now, only has a handful of active cases. The girl had gone to Bhubaneswar to look after her pregnant sister. On Thursday, the girl’s brother-in-law brought her back to Radharamanpada village of Angul district and dropped her close to her house.
However, the girl’s own family members refused to let her enter and demanded that she be put in quarantine. Angul district sub-collector Basudev Satapathy said the girl was made to sit under the scorching sun for over 3 hours as the family was scared over letting her enter due to her travel to Bhubaneswar. “It was with much difficulty that we managed to persuade the family members to put her in home quarantine,” said Satpathy.
