Hyderabad: A post-graduate doctor, who was among the first to be tested COVID-19 positive from Osmania Medical College (OMC), pens a letter to Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan explaining his agony.
The junior doctor, who is currently undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital, is among the thousands demanding postponement of examinations.
He wrote: “I am a final year post-graduate from the Department of General Surgery, Osmania Medical College. I am supposed to appear for the final year University examination from June 20, 2020, conducted by KNRUHS. But unfortunately. I got infected with coronavirus and got tested positive for COVID-19. I have been admitted to Gandhi Hospital and have been getting treatment here since June 1. Like me, there are several of my fellow colleagues from other Departments who tested positive for COVID-19 and going to appear in the exams.”
He added: “I personally faced and experienced how difficult it is to be isolated in this critical situation. To prepare for exams in such an atmosphere is simply not possible. Due to this mental agony, I am not able to concentrate to study for the exams. I fear that I may not perform well in the exams and risk losing an academic year because of an unfortunate incident. It is simply not possible to face everything simultaneously: the health problem, studies, exam anxiety, and social stigma”.
He wrote: “In the next 2-3 days, I will be discharged from Gandhi Hospital and was told I will be sent for home quarantine. To be honest about my personal situation – there is no such facility in my home to maintain any sort of quarantine with the family members. Moreover, the 2 weeks of home quarantine means that I will not be able to attend the first 2 exams. If I go home there is a high risk to my parents and family members getting infected with a virus through me. There are international studies that show that COVID 19 positive patients remain infectious even after 30-40 days”.
He added: “In this difficult time, the accommodation has also become a big problem for me because of the social stigma attached to COVID-19 patients. I strongly feel that this pandemic situation is not the right time to conduct exams. Osmania Medical College has now become a hotspot for COVID-19. There is a high risk to all the postgraduates (and their family members including infants and elders with co-morbidities in their families) who are going to write exams.”
He noted: “It will only worsen the pandemic situation further and become a massive burden for all front-line health workers. I don’t want my fellow colleagues to face all those problems which I have gone through. So I humbly request you to postpone exams till the severity of this pandemic subsides so that everyone can appear in a peaceful environment without risking their health and their family members’ lives. I have suffered a lot and don’t want anyone else to face the same. Please take all the necessary steps to avoid having exams at such short notice.”.
The young PG doctor contracted the infection from his childhood friend who visited Hyderabad for a check-up. He told Newsmeter that on May 29 his friend approached a private hospital in Kachiguda where he underwent an MRI scan.
“Though he visited the hospital in the morning, he had to wait till post-lunch as there was a big queue. For an MRI scan, one needs to spend a long time when compared to a CT or an X-ray. Over 11 patients were screened before him,” his friend said.He noted that the following day his childhood friend complained of mild fever and headache. “Unable to gauge threat, he was given medicine but when the temperature did not subside, he underwent a test at King Koti hospital where he tested positive for Covid-19. Except for the fever, he had no runny nose, cough, cold or sore throat,” he said.
The PG doctor was tested positive on June 1. He is among the first victim in OMC
