{"total":14806,"items":[{"nid":708382,"title":"COVID-19 relief scheme: Poor find access to accounts hard, says study","description":"Centre says more than 33 crore people have received cash under relief scheme","content":"On a day when the Centre said more than 39 crore people had received cash benefits under its COVID-19 relief scheme, a survey of rural households in six States cautioned that difficulty in accessing bank accounts meant that the impact of these benefits is more limited for the rural poor.\n\nForty days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a COVID-19 relief package, including extra grain allocations and cash transfers for the poor, Finance Ministry data showed that ₹34,800 crore has been transferred so far.\n\nRead | Fact check: Centre’s beneficiary count for COVID-19 relief is faulty\n\nBeneficiaries include 20 crore poor women who received the first instalment of ₹500 in their Jan Dhan bank accounts, indicating more than 98% coverage of the target group. More than 5.5 crore have got the second instalment as well.\n\nAlmost 3 crore pensioners, 8.2 crore farmers, 2.2 crore construction workers and 45 lakh salaried workers also received benefits, the Ministry said. It is important to note that some of these groups overlap with each other, and some of the funds are prior existing benefits anyway.\n\nA survey of 130 rural families in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, conducted by students and volunteers under the guidance of development economists Reetika Khera and Jean Dreze at the end of April, showed that only a third of the households had been able to go to the bank last month, although bank branches were supposed to remain open during the lockdown.\n\nRepeated visits\n\nOf those who did go to the bank, 80% were able to successfully withdraw cash, although they also mentioned repeated visits, long queues and Aadhaar-related problems. One in five returned without any money; reasons included that the bank was shut or they were put off by the large crowds, or that their passbooks were blocked or their accounts showed zero balance.\n\nOnly five respondents were able to access money outside their banks through ATMs, banking correspondents or customer service centres, although the Centre had encouraged these methods of accessing bank accounts at a time of mandated social distancing, to avoid crowds at rural bank branches.\n\nOnly 23% of surveyed households said they had received ₹500 in their Jan Dhan bank accounts or received an SMS notification about it. About a third of households did not get any money, but more than 40% said they simply did not know if the money had been received.\n\nIn practice, this means that many of the intended beneficiaries of the Centre’s cash transfers in these areas have not been able to access the relief at a time when it was desperately needed. “The problem with the government’s decision to give female Jan Dhan account holders ₹500 is that many poor women have non-JDY accounts. Further, those who have JDY accounts are also not able to access the cash, because they can’t go to a bank,” said Dr. Khera.\n\nBetter reach\n\nThe survey showed that the foodgrain portion of the relief scheme may have had better reach among intended beneficiaries, with 96% of surveyed households having received their ration for April. However, almost half were yet to receive the promised double ration.\n\nThe telephonic survey was carried out at the end of April using a random sample of 374 households originally used for the June 2019 Jachha Bachha survey of pregnant and nursing women in the rural areas of these States. The survey authors noted that by April 2020, a majority of these phone numbers were unreachable. “This is alarming, given that phone numbers are increasingly being linked to bank accounts, ration cards, etc., and used for purposes such as OTP and SMS alerts,” said the survey report.","author":"Special Correspondent","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/covid-19-relief-scheme-poor-find-access-to-accounts-hard-says-study/article31521803.ece","urlToImage":"https://www.thehindu.com/static/theme/default/base/img/og-image.jpg","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:25:34Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:21Z","siteName":"thehindu.com","language":"en","countryCode":"IN","status":1},{"nid":708380,"title":"Control room set up to facilitate movement of people","description":"State government operationalises another portal to obtain e-passes","content":"The Tamil Nadu government has set up a State Control Room to facilitate and streamline the inter-state movement of stranded people, even as confusion prevails over the process of applying for e-passes and the validity of such passes in other States.\n\nEarlier, nonresidenttamil.org was the portal meant for the registration of persons intending to enter or leave the State. But the State government has operationalised another portal - http://tnepass.tneda.org - for obtaining e-passes.\n\n\"In the system, ‘RETURN OF STRANDED PEOPLE’ has been added as the additional provision of issue of e-pass for movement of people within a district/within Tamil Nadu/Inter-State movement, apart from the earlier approved grounds (marriage, funeral and medical emergency),\" a G.O. issued in this regard on Tuesday said.\n\n\"No movement of stranded persons shall be permitted without TN-ePass,\" the G.O. said. However, officials involved in facilitating the process were not on the same page over e-passes.\n\nWhile one officer said the Tamil Nadu government-issued pass was valid in the State through which the pass-holder was transiting, another said a separate pass had to be obtained from each State. “There is confusion because not all States are accepting a single system. While some States allow people to transit through them with a T.N. government-issued pass, others don't. We are trying to streamline it,” an official involved in the process said.\n\nAnother issue facing the authorities is duplication of data. “Many have registered themselves multiple times. So, we have operationalised http://tnepass.tneda.org for e-passes,” an official said.\n\nSpeaking to The Hindu, a person who left Tamil Nadu for Kerala on Tuesday said, “The confusion is due to the fact that different States use different systems. There is no uniformity; no single website where we can apply. There are multiple websites for applying for multiple options in different places. Unless a uniform system is put in place, confusion is bound to prevail.”\n\nOfficials said the chances of getting an inter-State e-pass depended on the age and address of the applicant and whether the address fell under the red or orange zone in Tamil Nadu or any other State where the individual wished to go.\n\n“Unless it is an emergency, it is better to wait for some clarity. All States are confused over this process,” an officer said.","author":"Dennis S. Jesudasan","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/state-government-operationalises-another-portal-to-obtain-e-passes/article31521904.ece","urlToImage":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/sgpjzh/article31521903.ece/ALTERNATES/LANDSCAPE_615/DSC4314","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:24:50Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:21Z","siteName":"thehindu.com","language":"en","countryCode":"IN","status":1},{"nid":708376,"title":"Route map of three patients traced","description":"People who visited on April 28 areas marked in the map asked to report to Health authorities","content":"Aimed at tracking all those who had come into contact with the three COVID-19 patients who were detected on Tuesday, the Wayanad district administration on Wednesday released the map of the routes taken by the three patients under the Mananthavady Municipality limits.\n\nAll three contracted the disease from a truck driver who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus after his recent visit to Chennai. Those affected are his mother, wife, and the son of his lorry cleaner.\n\nAccording to the authorities, the son of the truck cleaner had visited nine places, including the Mananthavady branch of the Syndicate Bank and Kerala Grameen Bank at 11.50 a.m. and 12 noon respectively on April 28. He had also visited a petrol bunk at Chettappalam near Mananthavady around 12.30 p.m. on the day. While the wife of the driver was staying in home quarantine, his 85-year-old mother had visited Mananthavady Cooperative Milk Society, St.Vincent Giri Hospital, and St.Joseph’s Hospital at 6.15 a.m.,10.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. respectively on April 28.","author":"Staff Reporter","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/route-map-of-three-patients-traced/article31521889.ece","urlToImage":"https://www.thehindu.com/static/theme/default/base/img/og-image.jpg","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:24:12Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:21Z","siteName":"thehindu.com","language":"en","countryCode":"IN","status":1},{"nid":708378,"title":"Private hospitals fix ‘high’ rates for treatment","description":"Patients at the facilities are being charged as much as ₹70,000 a day for an isolation room","content":"With no cap on the cost of treatment, a few private hospitals in the city, designated as COVID-19 treatment facilities, have fixed ‘high’ rates for patients. One such hospital is charging patients ₹70,000 a day for an isolation room, while another is requiring them to pay for personal protective equipment (PPE) used by doctors and other staff every day.\n\nInquiries with a number of private hospitals in the city found that each of them were following their own pattern of charging patients under various heads. Most hospitals did not offer outpatient services for persons with symptoms of COVID-19, and were admitting patients for screening and testing.\n\nAt one such hospital in the heart of the city, patients are admitted to isolation rooms and their samples sent for testing. The cost per day is ₹70,000, and patients need to be admitted for a minimum of two days, until results of laboratory tests arrive, said the hospital staff.\n\nThe staff at another hospital in the southern part of the city said patients were being admitted based on their health condition. “If the patient needs to be admitted to the isolation Intensive Care Unit, the room charge per day is ₹10,000. The cost of COVID-19 testing is ₹6,000. The other heads are doctors’ fees and nursing charges. The patient has to pay for the PPE used by doctors every day — one set costs ₹4,000 to ₹5,000. So, till the laboratory test result arrives, a minimum of ₹60,000 will be charged a day,” a staff member said.\n\nAt a leading hospital, patients are being charged ₹70,000 on the first day of treatment, as they have to undergo screening, including a CT scan and a COVID-19 test. “The charges depend on the condition of the patient. If he/she is a diabetic, or has renal diseases, they will require longer hospitalisation, and [their] recovery will take time. Some may need ventilator support. The bill could be around ₹3 lakh-₹4 lakh or ₹12 lakh-₹14 lakh, or more, depending on their condition,” a hospital staff member said.\n\nThe family of an elderly patient, who was admitted to this hospital, was charged around ₹17 lakh.\n\nC.S. Rex Sargunam, president, Tamil Nadu Health Development Association, said, “The government should rein in private hospitals and fix the treatment cost for COVID-19. It is the duty of the government to intervene, and also take steps to reimburse patients.”\n\nAn office-bearer of the Indian Medical Association-Tamil Nadu said the body had requested the government to provide coverage under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme to poor people visiting the designated fever clinics in private hospitals. The heads of a few private hospitals could not be reached for comment.\n\nOfficial sources said that as of now, relatively few patients were undergoing treatment in private hospitals when compared to the patient population in government hospitals. “If a hospital charges inpatients ₹2 lakh, including the cost of consumables, how can people afford such an amount for 15 days [or more] of hospitalisation?” an official source asked.\n\nOfficials in the Health Department said it was difficult to bring about uniform treatment costs for private hospitals. “However, any complaints related to hospital charges could be brought to the notice of the joint director (Clinical Establishments Act) in each district,” an official said.","author":"Serena Josephine M.","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/private-hospitals-fix-high-rates-for-treatment/article31521886.ece","urlToImage":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/xkc9ju/article31521885.ece/ALTERNATES/LANDSCAPE_615/7THTESTING","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:23:36Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:21Z","siteName":"thehindu.com","language":"en","countryCode":"IN","status":1},{"nid":708384,"title":"‘Institutions should adhere to govt.-fixed price cap’","description":"Govt. issues clarification as messages about patients charged excess fees circulate on social media","content":"With messages about a private hospital in Coimbatore demanding exorbitant rates for COVID-19 tests doing the rounds on social media platforms, the district administration and the Health Department have clarified that all private hospitals and laboratories approved by the government for COVID-19 management and testing should follow the price cap fixed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.\n\nThe government had capped the price of tests at ₹4,500, which private facilities were supposed to comply with, District Collector K. Rajamani said.\n\nThe Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had, in March, said that private facilities which charge higher amounts would face legal action. The price cap of ₹4,500 included ₹1,500 for a screening test for suspect cases and ₹3,000 for a confirmatory test.\n\nBesides those with symptoms of the disease who seek treatment, the tests are carried out on patients who undergo non-emergency surgical procedures.\n\nHowever, according to Mr. Rajamani, it would be difficult to check whether private hospitals were charging excess fees for the treatment of COVID-19 patients and those with suspected symptoms of the disease. Treatment-related expenses also differ among hospitals, he noted.\n\nThe Joint Director of Health Services was supposed to monitor the operations of private hospitals, he added.\n\nIn Coimbatore district, seven private hospitals have been approved to treat COVID-19 patients, and one private laboratory and another attached to one of the seven hospitals have been authorised to conduct testing.\n\nWhile the cost of treatment is borne by the State in government hospitals, the patients have to foot the bill in private hospitals.\n\nP. Krishna, Joint Director of Health Services, Coimbatore district, said the Department would check if any private facility was violating the price cap.\n\nHowever, charges of hospitalisation and other expenses would add to the cost of testing if a person gets admitted to a private hospital as an in-patient. Private hospitals and laboratories have been directed to send daily reports on patients and details of those undergoing tests to the Health Department.\n\nThe official added that treatment cost in private facilities could be covered under insurance schemes.","author":"Staff Reporter","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/institutions-should-adhere-to-govt-fixed-price-cap/article31521872.ece","urlToImage":"https://www.thehindu.com/static/theme/default/base/img/og-image.jpg","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:22:20Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:23Z","siteName":"thehindu.com","language":"en","countryCode":"IN","status":1},{"nid":708296,"title":"Coronavirus spread swiftly around world from late 2019, study finds","description":"Scientists found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus, which they say shows how it is adapting to its human hosts as it spreads.","content":"London: A genetic study of samples from more than 7500 people infected with COVID-19 suggests the new coronavirus spread quickly around the world after it emerged in China sometime between October and December last year, scientists say.\n\nScientists at University College London's Genetics Institute found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2 - which the ICL researchers say shows how it is adapting to its human hosts as it spreads.\n\nPeople wait at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan in China, where the coronavirus outbreak is believed to have originated. Credit:Getty Images\n\n\"Phylogenetic estimates support that the COVID-2 pandemic started sometime around October 6, 2019 to December 11, 2019, which corresponds to the time of the host jump into humans,\" the research team, co-led by Francois Balloux, wrote in a study published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution.\n\nBalloux said the analysis also found that the virus was and is mutating, as normally happens with viruses, and that a large proportion of the global genetic diversity of the virus causing COVID-19 was found in all of the hardest-hit countries.","author":"Kate Kelland","url":"https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/coronavirus-spread-swiftly-around-world-from-late-2019-study-finds-20200507-p54qjt.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed","urlToImage":"https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.353%2C$multiply_0.7554%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_198/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/c5b38e6bc6490c49d36c4ecebacfceaf2478a581","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:21:37Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:08Z","siteName":"theage.com.au","language":"en","countryCode":"AU","status":1},{"nid":708386,"title":"Coronavirus | ethottam.com flooded with orders for vegetables, fruits","description":"Horticulture Department says it will clear the backlog in two days, will restrict orders.","content":"The Department of Horticulture will clear the backlog orders of vegetables and fruits being delivered through ethottam.com in the next couple of days and restrict new orders.\n\nSenior officials told The Hindu that the department had been receiving a large number of orders in the past few days, a situation exacerbated by the closure of the Koyambedu Wholesale Market.\n\nIn the past few days, people complained about their orders not being delivered and officials were not answering their calls. Many citizens flagged the issue on Twitter demanding that the department either provide the products or refund the money. By Wednesday evening, officials reached out to some who raised complaints and delivered their orders, and more orders were being cleared.\n\nAn official said the department would clear the backlog in a couple of days. “People are preferring to buy from the Horticulture Department due to the good quality of fruits and vegetables and also due to the low prices. While they deliver around 2,000 packs per day, the orders ranged between 3,000-3,500 per day. The Koyambedu issue has also led to an increase in orders,” the official said.\n\nSenior officers such as the assistant director, deputy directors and others personally segregate each pack to provide the best quality products. The issue of officers not answering calls to provide updates on the orders was also reviewed, sources said.\n\n“A directive has been given to provide the numbers of the control room of the Agriculture department since these officials are working from 4 a.m. in the morning and segregating the produce. It becomes difficult for them to keep track of everything,” the official said. Those who have ordered products and have pending orders can call the control room on 044- 22253496, 22253884, 22253885.\n\nThe department will also restrict the number of orders they can deliver every day (around 2,000 packs) and directions have been given to provide an auto-generated message to consumers on the delivery status, the official said.","author":"T.K. Rohit","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/ethottamcom-flooded-with-orders-for-veggies-fruits/article31521696.ece","urlToImage":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/1btrh6/article31521694.ece/ALTERNATES/LANDSCAPE_615/07MAYTHPTI06-05-2020000225B","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:21:21Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:24Z","siteName":"thehindu.com","language":"en","countryCode":"IN","status":1},{"nid":708338,"title":"COVID-19: Will Gilead price its drug for public good or company profit?","description":"REUTERS: Gilead Sciences Inc faces a new dilemma in deciding how much it should profit from the only treatment so far proven to help patients ...","content":"REUTERS: Gilead Sciences Inc faces a new dilemma in deciding how much it should profit from the only treatment so far proven to help patients infected with COVID-19.\n\nThe drug manufacturer earned notoriety less than a decade ago, when it introduced a treatment that essentially cured hepatitis C at a price of US$1,000 per pill.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nAdvertisement\n\nPublic outrage over the cost of Sovaldi in 2013 - despite that it was a vast improvement over existing equally expensive therapies - ignited a national debate on fair pricing for prescription medicines that the pharmaceutical industry has fought to deflect ever since.\n\nThat backlash has subsided considerably in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, during which drugmakers’ efforts to develop vaccines and treatments is considered essential to battling a disease that has infected some 3.7 million people and killed over 258,000 worldwide.\n\nGilead is now in the spotlight again after data showed its antiviral drug remdesivir helped reduce hospital stays for COVID-19 patients, and the US authorised wide emergency use of the therapy.\n\nFILE PHOTO: An ampule of Ebola drug Remdesivir is pictured at the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, Germany, on Apr 8, 2020, as the spread of coronavirus continues. Ulrich Perrey/Pool via REUTERS\n\nAdvertisement\n\nAdvertisement\n\nWall Street analysts say remdesivir could generate US$750 million or more in worldwide sales next year, and US$1.1 billion in 2022, assuming the pandemic continues. But Gilead, and other drugmakers, will need to avoid the appearance of taking advantage of a global health crisis to rake in profit, according to pharmaceutical industry consultants and former regulators.\n\n\"This is a tremendous opportunity for drug manufacturers,\" to improve the industry's image, said Ed Schoonveld, a drug pricing expert at consulting firm ZS Associates. “There has been an overwhelmingly negative focus on drug prices.\"\n\nGilead Chief Executive Daniel O'Day, in the post just over a year, is proceeding with caution. The company is donating enough remdesivir for at least 140,000 patients for distribution by the US government to hospitals nationally.\n\nAt a meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday, O'Day pledged to make the therapy available to those in need.\n\nGilead also aims to increase worldwide manufacturing to supply over a million coronavirus patients by year-end, rising to several million in 2021, if required. The company has not disclosed its pricing plans.\n\n\"I think this will certainly help the industry's reputation,\" O'Day said on a recent conference call with investors. \"I'm not suggesting that there won't continue to be focus and pressure on drug pricing ... but it's being done now in a way where we can have an appreciation for the innovation the industry brings.\"\n\nGilead on Tuesday said it was talking with chemical and drug manufacturers to produce remdesivir for Europe, Asia and the developing world through at least 2022. The company said it was negotiating voluntary licenses with generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan, who would produce a lower-cost supply of remdesivir for developing countries.\n\nFEDERAL MARCH IN?\n\nEstimates of a fair price for remdesivir in the United States, where drugmakers generally charge the most for a new therapy, vary widely.\n\nThe Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), which assesses effectiveness of drugs to determine appropriate prices, suggested a maximum price of US$4,500 per 10-day treatment course based on the preliminary evidence of how much patients benefited in a clinical trial.\n\nConsumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Monday said remdesivir should be priced at US$1 per day of treatment, since \"that is more than the cost of manufacturing at scale with a reasonable profit to Gilead.\"\n\nSome Wall Street investors expect Gilead to come in at US$4,000 per patient or higher to make a profit above remdesivir's development cost, which Gilead estimates at about US$1 billion.\n\nGilead shares have risen about 20 per cent since the beginning of the year, largely on hopes for remdesivir. That compares with a drop of 12 per cent for the broad S&P500 Index.\n\nSome experts warn that a much higher US price for remdesivir would put Gilead back in the crosshairs on drug pricing. In a more extreme scenario, the company could risk federal or state government action to march in and invalidate the medicine's patent protection in the name of public health and issue mandatory manufacturing orders.\n\nThe US government has never invoked those rights. But it has sued Gilead over patents on two of its widely-used HIV drugs that received federal funding grants while in development.\n\n\"If there is ever a time when those issues might arise, this would be that time,\" said Eric Katz, CEO at consulting firm HealthTech GPS, which advises the industry on pricing.\n\nKatz, a former official at the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the government could make similar arguments over remdesivir, which was originally developed to treat Ebola with federal funding, and is now being studied in a trial backed by the National Institutes of Health.\n\nDemocratic lawmaker Lloyd Doggett of Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, sent Gilead a letter this week demanding the company detail its plans for remdesivir, including supply issues, disclosure of taxpayer investment in the drug's development, and purchase and pricing arrangements.\n\n\"American taxpayers have made a big investment in remdesivir, but now in return, those who need treatment may get only a big bill while Gilead gets a big payoff,” Doggett warned.\n\nDownload our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram","author":"","url":"https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/covid-19-coronavirus-gilead-price-drug-public-good-profit-12709990","urlToImage":"https://cna-sg-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/image/12709988/16x9/991/557/d6c75d98af857245d387ab7e247efaff/bZ/file-photo--gilead-sciences-inc-pharmaceutical-company-is-seen-during-the-outbreak-of-the-coronavirus-disease--covid-19---in-california-2.jpg","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:20:22Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:14Z","siteName":"channelnewsasia.com","language":"en","countryCode":"SG","status":1},{"nid":708388,"title":"‘One should take safety measures for family’","description":"An Aligarh doctor recounts his fight with COVID-19","content":"“The biggest worry was the health of family and friends,” said Anant Sharma, one of the three doctors of Aligarh Muslim University’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College who tested positive for COVID 19, after he was discharged on Wednesday. His second consecutive report came out negative on Tuesday.\n\n“I was confident that I will come out of it but was worried about my parents and friends,” said the postgraduate student of anaesthesiology. “The biggest learning is that one should take safety measures for the family and friends.”\n\nNarrating his fight with COVID-19, Dr. Sharma said he developed high fever and sore throat on April 23. “I went to the fever clinic... two days later, I was declared COVID-19 positive and admitted to the isolation ward where two of my colleagues were already admitted.”\n\nOnce admitted, his ECG and X-ray were taken which turned out normal. “ECG is important to determine whether the patient could be given hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). I was given HCQ along with a broad spectrum antibiotic so that I would not develop any infection. By the time I was admitted, my fever had become moderate and after 2 to 3 days I didn’t require any medicine for fever as I had become asymptomatic.”\n\nDr. Sharma refused to comment on the efficacy of HCQ. “I would insist that it should not be taken without a doctor’s advice.”\n\nThe moment he tested positive, his wife, also a doctor, was sent into home quarantine and her samples along with that of his parents were tested. “Thankfully, they all tested negative.”\n\nHe could not determine his source of infection. He said he had worked with the other two doctors before they tested positive. “As none of us was posted in the fever clinic, we were not given PPE. However, now every patient who comes to the hospital is tested for COVID-19 and all the doctors have been given PPE.”\n\n‘Communal virus’\n\nWhen he was in the hospital, a local MLA held JNMC responsible for the spread of the virus. The district administration complained of delays in reports. “Like COVID-19, the communal virus also demands social distancing,” said Dr. Sharma. “The more you ignore it, the less it will spread.”\n\nDr. Sharma has rented a flat in a society in Zakaria Market, near the medical college. “It is a predominantly Muslim locality and the support we got from our neighbours will remain etched in our memory. So does the support of my friends and senior members of Resident Doctors’ Association. Their messages, calls, and, not to forget, food gave me confidence that I am not alone in this fight.”\n\nDr. Sharma has been advised two weeks of home quarantine. “I am eager to return to the front line. With the number of cases increasing in the city, that’s where I should be,” he said.","author":"Anuj Kumar","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/one-should-take-safety-measures-for-family/article31521784.ece","urlToImage":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/losmt1/article31521783.ece/ALTERNATES/LANDSCAPE_615/DE07DOC","publishedAt":"2020-05-06T18:17:16Z","addedOn":"2020-05-06T18:31:24Z","siteName":"thehindu.com","language":"en","countryCode":"IN","status":1}]}