Wasn’t easy, but he shook off the virus

Having overcome the coronavirus, Anil Kumar, 37, living at Avtar Avenue, is no less than a hero in his locality, situated near Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. As soon as he was declared a positive on June 16, trepidation ruled the neighbourhood as fears of getting infected snowballed day by day. Not only him but also his family members had eyes on them all along.

“My family was also tensed. I am a father of two daughters aged five years and four months,” Anil Kumar shares. On the same day of his being found positive, a medical team from the Health Department descended at his residence taking minute details of his medical history.

“Earlier, I had started losing my sense of smell which surely caused a little consternation. This had continued for some days, prompting me to get a medical test conducted. Then on June 16, a test was conducted and the same day reports declared me positive,” he says.

The next day, on June 17, he was taken to a Meritorious School for quarantine. He was confined there till June 25. “A three-time meal and tea were served everyday. Mess-cooked meal used to be served at 8 am in breakfast, lunch at 1 pm and dinner at 8 pm. While tea was given two times in a day, i.e. at 8 am and 4 pm,” he adds.

However, facility was given to order eatables or snacks available at the mess on payment. He could also ask his family to provide him with some anytime.

“During the nine-day quarantine period, neither medicine was given nor an injection was administered. If an inmate had complained of any medical complications, only then the authorities resorted to such measures. Once or twice a day, the body temperature used to be checked with hand-held thermometer and also the blood pressure (BP),” he tells.

Anil was asked to sign a form declaring his recovery and well-being. For a week, starting from June 25, he was asked to undergo home quarantine. And it was no easy task for the family to hold back his 5-year-old Anisha to bar her a visit to his father.

On July 4, Anil Kumar had shaken off the virus and went about his job in a factory, where he’s a packing supervisor.