Editorial | Deal with them humanely

The pandemic and the consequent lockdown has exposed personal characters, national behaviours, and systemic attitudes. Apart form a threat to human life, as it has already consumed a huge number of lives, and also destroyed economies world over, this pandemic has brought many good and ugly  things to fore. One of the disturbing things in all this is how in certain cases covid hit patients are treated. This is not from the medical point of view, as the doctors and the paramedics threw their lives in the line of danger for treating these patients. This is the attitude shown towards such patients at certain places. The information regarding this pandemic, from the day lockdown began, was so swift and widespread that we should not have exhibited strange behaviours. But in many cases these patients were, and are being considered as something of untouchables. They are served food in a manner that is inhuman, they are kept at a distance not just physically, but mentally. People need to educate themselves about this disease.

The first thing is that it is a disease not a curse. There is nothing wrong with the person who becomes a victim of this pandemic. Second, if a person is quarantined it doesn’t mean we should deprive him of human treatment. It is a medical requirement that such patients need to be kept away from others for a stipulated time period. Once the period is over and they don’t slip into any bad condition, they are back to normal. While they undergo treatment, medical guidelines are to be followed. But these patients are to be considered as normal humans, and dealt with a human heart. In this regard it is good to see the director health emphasising that covid patients need a human touch. “Active or recovered COVID 19 patients in Kashmir need human touch of the doctor and the pandemic staff.” These words from the officer at the helm are timely, and those who deal with such patients should pay heed to these words.

   

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