A writer since the age of 10, Dr Pradip Awate uses the pandemic as inspiration for poetry while being a medico fighting to lower Maharashtra's COVID-19 infection and mortality rates.
Dr Pradip Awate's team collects data from the state's 36 districts and 27 municipal corporations daily to share with the Chief Minister and state health minister
Dr Pradip Awate, 54
Maharashtra surveillance officer, Epidemiology Department
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It is 8 pm on a Wednesday. Dr Pradip Awate is juggling multiple calls on the helpline number. The surveillance unit at the Health Department office in Pune is facing a stressful time. "But the team has been at it since March; we are used to it," Dr Awate quips.
He pauses for a quick chat with manager Shravani Kulkarni. "My whole team has been working for more than 12 hours per day since March. There is no concept of weekends either. With any outbreak of disease, keeping a check on data and following guidelines become important. The Chief Minister, the state health minister and the secretary are closely monitoring us. We cannot fail anyone. The data needs to be super accurate."
Maharashtra reported its first two COVID-19 cases on March 9—a couple from Pune who were part of a 40-member group that had returned from a Dubai tour on March 1. But, weeks before that, Dr Awate had been preparing for the pandemic. "My job is to come up with protocols and ensure that all guidelines are followed. The big challenge is that while there is plenty of data available, it has to be converted into information one can use, and eventually turn that information into knowledge. My bigger role is to share who is at risk and who isn't. One slip could cost someone their life."
His team compiles updates from 36 districts and 27 municipal corporations daily. Dr Awate is the first person to receive news regarding the state's infection and mortality rates, good or bad. "We keep telling everyone to stay home, stay safe. But my own staff cannot follow this norm. If we don't step out to survey patients and healthcare workers, who will? I have a daughter, a son, old parents and a wife. I worry for them every time I come across disturbing data. But, I cannot afford to panic. I feel it is my responsibility to control the transmission of the virus."
Maharashtra's first peak came in mid-September, when the daily case count crossed 24,000. "I constantly think of ways to reduce the impact of the virus. I keep reading research papers from other countries. Any clue gives me hope that I can put an end to this."
Dr Awate is unfazed that he gets more than 200 distress calls every day on his personal number. "I get calls at 2 am with all sorts of questions about the virus. And I am always available, because counselling is as important as the treatment."
Although he admits it's a health scare like no other, he rues the role of social media in inducing panic. "Things are blown out of proportion. Almost 85 per cent of cases are symptomatic. Even if doctors recommend self isolation at home, people are anxious and want to get admitted to a hospital. So, I counsel them to calm them down," he adds.
Known to have successfully curbed the influenza A H1N1 outbreak in the state in 2009, Dr Awate says that the COVID-19 pandemic has been different. "We could treat patients with the drug Oseltamivir. Now, we don't have any medicine or cure."
To beat the stress, Dr Awate takes to poetry. "It is a great escape. I write about everything, good and bad, that I have experienced in the pandemic. The plan is to write more poems once this is over."
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