TURA, May 20: The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic has started to take a toll on Meghalaya’s already-weary first line of defence against the dreaded virus. The health workers and doctors, after assessing the gravity of the situation, are now advocating for a complete lockdown to break the chain of infection in state.
Doctors and other health workers from across various hospitals, dealing with COVID-19-infected patients, spoke to The Shillong Times on Thursday and gave rationale as to why a lockdown needs to be imposed for a considerable period of time to check the unabating spike in COVID-19 cases.
“It is too late to continue holding micro-containment zones of temporary closures. Community spread is already widespread. The only way to stop the virus is to lock down Tura and the region for a considerable period of time and by this, I mean nothing less than a month, maybe even two months, because the disease has reached every nook and corner of Garo Hills,” says a senior medic in Tura.
His colleague, who is also involved in COVID-19 duty, narrated how medical staff, from nurses to ward attendants, have been working their fingers to the bone without breaks due to the dearth of manpower.
“There have even been instances of a few (medical staff) throwing up and almost collapsing from the workload, but they have carried on with their duty. They also have families and are worried about infecting their loved ones. Yet, duty calls and they answer to it,” recalls a doctor from Tura Civil Hospital, the main medical care centre for COVID-19 patients across Garo Hills.
Stating that the virus is spreading among medical staff, he recalled a situation where the main testing laboratory in the hospital was closed for almost a week. He also recalled how an intensive care unit and an operation theatre were closed for several days after the staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Almost all doctors and frontline workers are in sync with the idea that a prolonged lockdown is the only way to break the chain of infection.
“We are at the frontline of the fight against the disease. We are a limited number. If we were to get infected, who else will work? That is why we had been advocating for a complete lockdown for the past two weeks. Though we feel it is a little too late, we hope some positive changes can still be made,” said some doctors, requesting anonymity.
Those who work in the COVID ward of the hospitals are required to first undergo an RT-PCR test before joining duty.
After completion of their duty tenure of several days, they are required to go for seven-day quarantine and another RT-PCR test to check their fitness levels.
“It is gruelling but we have to do it for the patients and as well as for us and our families,” say these medics, who continue to be resolute in the fight against COVID-19.
