Srinagar, Jun 15: Questioning society’s response towards COVID-19 patients, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said when a noted cardiologist and Padamshree awarded Dr U Kaul can face ostracism for being positive what hope do regular people have.
In a tweet, Omar questioned, “When a noted cardiologist & Padmashree awardee like Dr U Kaul can face ostracism for being COVID + what hope do regular people have?”
He was reacting to a report in a national daily of Dr Kaul which reads, “It was the afternoon of June 3 when I got my coronavirus disease (Covid-19) test report as detected. It was done voluntarily so I would not have be quarantined at Srinagar airport where I had intended to go for a break. It came as a rude shock and the next step was mandatory home quarantine. I started it at once by moving to a nearby flat to avoid any exposure to relatives who may have been at high-risk.”
“This quarantine has been a nightmare because of a cascade of events initiated by my neighbours who sent a written complaint to the district magistrate (DM) and Station House Officer of the police station nearby, alleging that I was putting the lives of the residents in grave danger. I could see them taking pictures of me the surrounding balconies and CCTV’s footages of mine were also kept as evidence. I got a warning from DM following a First Information Report (FIR) recorded by the police saying that I shouldn’t move out of the premises until June 16. He further said newspaper hawkers stopped supplying newspapers.
The newspaper in its analysis said, “Are we are making Covid-19 into a sort of disease like leprosy where the stigma has been transferred? By now, we know the preventive methods to contain the spread. This stigma needs to be tackled through education and also, in extreme cases, by punishing the perpetrators legally”.
UNI
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