In Telangana, public wary of revealing travel history out of fear of quarantine

Hyderabad: People who have travelled to Covid-19 affected countries recently are visiting general practitioners and lung specialists as soon as they develop symptoms of cold, cough and fever, but many refuse to go to Gandhi Hospital, which is the nodal hospital for the disease.

This has been noted in small and big hospitals and it’s worrying that these patients are opting for private doctors.

Many are not willing to disclose their travel history for fear of being quarantined. With more cases in the state now coming to the fore as symptoms have developed, some people want their samples to be taken only from home.

Covid-19 disease suffers from social stigma and the mental trauma of quarantine. There is much fear of the disease and also fear of what will be done to you in quarantine. Too much of misinformation is floating around. People are scared. This is leading to this kind of behaviour.
- Dr G Srinivas, general physician

Since not enough information has been provided about what happens when one is quarantined, people don’t know what to expect.

They are worried about being kept far away from their families and being unable to communicate with them, which is not the case.

The proper information will give people confidence about coming to centres that have facilities for testing and also isolation wards.

Private and government hospitals have to be on the same page and it must not be that a paying patient gets better treatment while those unable to pay are sent to government hospitals which have never had a good reputation.

It is also necessary to know that only those patients are kept in isolation in the hospital who need care, said a doctor. “If the numbers rise, only serious patients must be allowed. The mild ones have to self-quarantine at home,” he said.

To have the discipline to self quarantine, that is, go out as little as possible, is an effective way to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.