Let’s stop treating COVID-19 contact as criminal

The need of the hour is a humanitarian attitude, not discrimination and violence towards patients and healthcare workers

By Ravindra M Mehta & Arul Furtado

The premise on which a civilised society operates is ‘innocent till proven guilty.’ But COVID-19 seems to have reversed this adage. There has been a knee-jerk societal backlash from some people, above and beyond the impact of the infection. Let’s closely look at this harsh reality rapidly engulfing us.

The following true-life scenarios give us food for thought, and leave a bitter taste in the mouth:

A son studying in Dubai is frantically brought back by his parents to Mumbai, tests COVID-19 positive, and being stable is advised home isolation. The apartment people object to him coming home, and also look upon the family warily. The family is at a loss as to where to go, as they have no other place to live in Mumbai.

A respiratory therapist who works in an ICU in a hospital in Bengaluru gets a call from the owner of her paying guest (PG) accomodation, asking her to vacate the PG immediately as the owner is worried that the healthcare worker can be a source of COVID-19 infection.

A group of young doctors in training, part of the workforce taking care of sick patients, are asked to vacate their shared apartment – the owners don’t want to have healthcare personnel working with COVID-19 patients to come into their complex.

A hospital surrounded by a residential area has its first stable COVID-19 patient, and the neighbours file a complaint against the hospital as they don’t want to be in the vicinity.

A doctor in a clinic discussing a COVID-19 situation with a colleague is overheard by a patient in the waiting room. The patient then posts a message on social media that the doctor is treating such patients in his clinic without precautions. The message goes viral, leaving the doctor distressed and defending himself.

A patient who visits a hospital for a regular healthcare issue later learns that the hospital had a COVID-19 patient. He complains that this was not conveyed to him in his visit there, and they have put his life in danger.

Doctors entering a community investigating outbreaks are pelted with stones by the irate public.

A COVID-19 demise is not taken well by family members, who wreck violence on the healthcare set-up.

These are a few of multiple scenarios where there is obvious injustice done to COVID-19 patients/healthcare providers, augmenting their trauma and ostracising them. For healthcare professionals who are on the frontline battling the crisis, it adds insult to injury.

Ostracism of the sick, and alienation of healthcare personnel and facilities will not help this cause. If we do not have consideration for innocent sick people, healthcare workers and healthcare systems, the moral fibre of society stands completely demolished by panic and selfishness.

There is no point applauding healthcare workers, if we cannot put this gratitude into practise with an attitude which reflects this. Indeed, the common man’s safety is paramount, but consideration, lending a helping hand for the sick, helping the system and respect for healthcare workers will go a long way in dealing with this pandemic. This is a role each one of us can play, as we ask what we can do to help in this crisis. Remember, one day it may be any one of us afflicted with this disease, and we will look for society and healthcare to help us in our moment of crisis – we need to support them now.

Help those who help you, and be kind to those afflicted. Laws need to be enacted, as is happening, to protect the innocent and healthcare workforce, but humanity is the need of the hour. Let’s not forget the age-old saying – 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'

(Dr Ravindra M Mehta (pulmonary and critical care specialist) and Dr Arul Furtado (cardiac surgeon) are with Apollo Hospitals, Bengaluru)

The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.