29 Nurses Test Positive For Covid-19 In Mumbai, Disaster Waiting To Happen Shows We Hardly Care

Just a few weeks ago, on the evening of March 22, the entire country was on their balconies cheering for the frontline workers, including doctors and nurses for their service during the COVID-19 outbreak. But the reality the doctors and nurses have to put up with every day is totally different.

Ever since the COVID-19 cases began spiking many doctors and nurses were quite literally thrown out of their apartments and rented accommodations by landlords and neighbours on the fear that they might be infected.

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That is just one of the struggles that the medical professionals are going through right now. The biggest concern for them, be it doctors or nurses are the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).

This is the same for both medical professionals working in government and private hospitals. Recently when some medical professionals took to social media to complain about the lack of PPEs they were bullied and forced to delete their posts.

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And the lack of PPEs has started showing its effect.

On Friday, the Union Health Ministry said that more than 50 medical staff had tested positive for COVID-19. This was before the staff at Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai tested positive for the infection. Till now 29 nurses and 3 doctors of the hospital have tested positive for the viral infection and the fear is that the numbers will go up in the coming days.

Just over a month ago when there were a few hundred cases of COVID-19 in the country, Indiatimes had reported how poorly prepared we are for the outbreak. This was based on interactions with nurses working at several hospitals in Delhi. Indiatimes once again caught up with some of them in the wake of the Mumbai hospital incident and all of them said they were not surprised at what happened.

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"This is just the tip of the iceberg. Many of my friends have also developed symptoms and have been asked to quarantine themselves. A few of my colleagues have already tested positive for COVID-19," a nurse working at one of the biggest hospitals in NCR said.

Those working in COVID-19 wards have to work six hours a day for six days and then have to remain in home isolation for the next 14 days before joining back for duty. But according to her, the six hours are like living hell.

"Have you seen that images of Chinese nurses with bruised faces after work? Let me tell you, one cannot describe what it feels like to be inside that suit. It is like you are in a heat chamber. You have to be inside the suit for six hours and you cannot even remove it to have some food or tea. In fact, we have been asked not to go to the washroom while at work," she said.

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"The moment I step out of the hospital, I call my husband to tell him the time that I will reach home so that he can keep the gate open. Once at home, the first thing that I do is to take a proper bath. Only after that, I would even go near my two children. It is a weird feeling," she added.

She said that as more nurses are sent to quarantine, it adds to the pressure of others on duty, both mentally and physically.

"Every day I come across many worried faces of my colleagues. Most of then are very young, just a few years into their career. They are also under pressure from their families who are concerned about their safety," she said.

Another nurse working with another private hospital said those who are not deployed at COVID-19 wards have to work 12 hours a day.

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"Since the COVID-19 patients are the priority now most of the staff have been assigned duty there. But there are other patients too who are admitted and have to be taken care of. So we are working four hours extra, due to the staff shortage. I have not been assigned COVID-19 ward duty yet. But it could happen in the coming days. If not COVID-19, the exhaustion from working 12 hours a day will kill me," she said.

She also added that there is pressure from her family to come back, even if that means leaving the job.

"My family back in Kerala are really worried about my safety after watching everything that is happening around in the news. My parents even asked me to come back to Kerala. But I can't leave as my family depends on my salary. I also have to pay back the loan that I took for my studies. All these I have to find from the Rs 15,000 salary I get. Sometimes I do think is it worth risking my life for this? Maybe it is, I don't know," she said.

(The names of the two nurses have been withheld on request to avoid identification)