Stigma and fear still haunt Covid patients in Andhra

Despite repeated warnings from the CM himself, it appears that stigma and fear of coronavirus haven’t left the people of Andhra Pradesh. The burial of a patient who died of Covid-19 by using a JCB (excavator) in the temple town of Tirupati has created a furore in the state.

A few days ago, the dead body was brought by a land mover from a hospital in Palasa town, instead of an ambulance. The entire incident took everyone by storm. Angered at this, Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy acted swiftly and suspended municipal commissioner and one health inspector of Palasa. The entire episode has exposed the stigma attached to Covid patients and the officials too are not untouched from it.

Meanwhile, the Tirupati Municipal administration, while defending its inhuman act, said that due to the overweight of the dead body, excavator was used. This incident was widely criticised on social media and ex-minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Nara Lokesh too slammed the government for this. He tweeted, “Yet another shocking instance of how the dead body of a Covid-19. The patient is treated in AP. Authorities in Tirupati are seen using an earthmover to dump the body in a pit. Does the government have the guts to show this video to the grieving loved ones?”

Many villages are still not allowing their own people who come from other places to enter them. The government is trying to create awareness among the public through various media that people should not hate the Covid patients but the ground reality is completely different. A month ago, CM himself directed the officials to take up a mass awareness programme on Covid-19. Taking stock of the state’s situation, he said the primary job before them was to educate people on coronavirus symptoms and measures that need to be taken and at the same time ensure that those infected were not stigmatised.