It has been 13 days since 48-year-old Harpal Singh, the sarpanch of Pathlawa village in Punjab’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (SBS) district was declared COVID-19 free. But he stayed on till Sunday in the quarantine ward of the district hospital in Nawanshahr because his 72-year-old mother had also tested positive and was admitted to the hospital.
A very relieved Mr. Singh is all set to return home with his mother, who has also recovered from the infection.
The mother and son are among 19 COVID-19 cases from SBS Nagar district. Punjab’s first death due to the virus — of a 70-year-old man on March 18 — was also recorded from Pathlawa.
No fresh case has been reported from the district since March 26 and 17 of the 19 infected persons have been treated and discharged. Only a 15-year-old remains under treatment at the district hospital.
‘Combat fear’
“I was admitted on March 22 after my samples tested positive and was discharged on April 7, but I didn’t want to go without my mother. I decided to stay at the quarantine ward of the hospital. Today, I am happy that my mother has also been cured and we will both go back home,” Mr. Harpal said.
Thanking the hospital staff for their dedicated service, Mr. Harpal said people need to stay clam and overcome their fears if they test positive for COVID-19.
“Doctors and other staff at the hospital counselled me and kept motivating me, it helped me a lot. It may not be easy but one should overcome his/her fear. Practising hygiene and taking precautions are the important things to be kept in mind,” he said.
“In case there’s any symptom of coronavirus, one should immediately get the treatment. The earlier the treatment starts, the better it is,” Mr. Harpal emphasised.
“Also, I believe that a patient’s family should stay in touch to keep up the morale. Loneliness is devastating. I kept listening to Gurbani (hymns from the Granth Sahib),” he said.
Successful strategy
Deputy Commissioner Vinay Bublani said as soon as the first COVID-19 death was reported from SBS Nagar district, the administration initiated a strategy to geographically tag affected areas.
“In this process 15 affected villages were sealed and the containment plan was strictly implemented,” he said.
