17 June,2020 07:31 AM IST | Mumbai | The Editorial
Janardan Sarang's wife and daughters. (inset) Janardan Sarang
This paper carried a front-page report about a man in a quarantine centre suffering an injury and dying as a result of delayed help.
The man's family has alleged that they were in a quarantine centre in the western suburbs. The man slipped on the wet floor outside the bathroom while going for a bath and died of the resulting head injuries.
The family said they were asking for help desperately to transport the man to a hospital for immediate treatment. There was no ambulance and no other help. He was finally taken to a hospital in an autorickshaw by his wife and elder daughter and died on the way.
While the report said that precious time was frittered away, there has been no response from officials, who have not commented in the report.
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We want quarantine facilities in public places to be safe for people. A good standard of hygiene must be maintained and those quarantined also need to be responsible for keeping their surroundings clean. With regard to access to responders and caretakers, the key to quarantine is accountability.
Those that have been quarantined must have a list of numbers they can call in case of emergencies. One has to remember that quarantine centres are a home away from home and during that period, the person quarantined may need medical aid for other problems.
Authorities need to be able to have some bandwidth to respond to that. As a first response, they could at least send a doctor for a check-up.
There is enough stress and frustration building up for those who have been quarantined, such incidents may just be the last straw in what can turn out to be a confrontation which we can ill afford.
Resources are worn thin, but the least officials can do is react to a desperate plea for help.
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