The number of cases surrounding Coronavirus are increasing exponentially in India. So here we are not only bringing you the first story of Covid-19 from the Capital but also the first tale of survival as well. Delhi’s first coronavirus survivor Rohit Datta spoke at length about his experience of contracting and recovering from the deadly disease. Let’s see what he shared.
Where It All Started
Rohit Datta is a businessman based out of Delhi, who lives with his family in East Delhi. He travelled to Europe in February and returned to India on 25th February. At that time, Europe had less than 50 positive cases of coronavirus, which has now become a hotbed for the pandemic. He said when he came back to India, he was absolutely fine. But it was on the night of 25th, when he got a fever which was at 99.5 degrees then. The next morning he went to his family physician, who told him that it’s just a sore throat and nothing else. So he was given medicines for 2-3 days.
By morning of 28th, he felt absolutely fine like his fever was gone. But it was not. At night, he again felt feverish. That’s when he along with his wife went to the doctor the next morning and told him that they want COVID-19 to be checked just for clarity and if he could refer them.
COVID-19 Screening At RML Hospital
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Rohit went to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia hospital to get the screening done. They took a swab of his throat and nose and admitted him saying “You’ll have to stay here till your reports don’t come.” By next morning, the government and all the medical staff came to know that he is the first positive patient in Delhi. Though, Rohit said that the staff and doctors didn’t tell him anything even in the night. They just came to him in the morning and told about him being tested positive. Soon after that, he was given covered clothes to wear, which are now called the PPE kits and immediately transferred him to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital for further treatment.
Major Symptoms
Talking about the symptoms, he shared that it was primarily fever which kept fluctuating but the day he was admitted in Safdarjung, he started coughing also.
As soon as it was confirmed that he contracted COVID-19, a team of doctors was sent to his house to conduct a test on his family members and everyone tested negative. They also took phone numbers of the people he met in last few days.
The government officials contacted everyone on their own and tested them all. They didn’t bother him and his family at all. But only put them under home quarantine for 14 days.
Story At Safdarjung Hospital
Following the confirmation, Rohit was kept in an isolation ward there. He is all praises for the staff at the Safdarjung Hospital. “The doctors and the medical staff were too good,” he said.
When asked if the doctors knew what exactly to be done with Delhi’s 1st coronavirus patient, he said “Of course, they were well-equipped. Theoretically, they knew everything but practically, they started with me.”
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His treatment included utmost care by doctors and hospital staff, few medicines and yoga. He used to do Pranayam twice a day and said that it helped him a lot in his recovery. He started seeing positive changes in his health in only 5-6 days.
What Did You Do To Pass Your Time
“See, the good thing was that I had my phone. So whenever I felt lonely, I used to video call my family. They motivated me a lot. It gave me strength to come out of it. Earlier, due to weakness, I usually used to sleep for long hours but when I started recovering, I started watching Netflix “, Rohit added.
How Was The Isolation Ward
He also revealed that the isolation ward that he was kept in was just like any other room but with all the facilities. He praised the government for treating him with good facilities. He said, ” Everything was well taken care of by the government. There’s nothing that I can complain about. In fact, I didn’t spend a single penny myself. It was all free of cost.”
When Negative Reports Come
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Speaking about his journey to full recovery, he said that the fever was gone after 2-3 days and after 5-7 days his reports started showing positive signs. Once the result of two reports came negative and it was confirmed that he was free of the virus, he was allowed to step out of quarantine on March 14.
At the time of discharge, he was given 2-3 papers of home quarantine which had instructions like his utensils, clothes should be kept separate at home. He must use separate bathroom and was asked to maintain 2-3 metres of distance from his family members for few days.
Word Of Advice
He pointed out few important things that we all should start doing. “We should always remember almighty in every situation, be it happy or sad. Secondly, instead of going to malls or doing any outings, we should meet our near and dear ones often. It’s good to spend as much time as possible with your family. On health front, all I can request is to please get yourself checked if you notice any symptoms. Health should be our priority and it shouldn’t be taken lightly,” the survivor added.