Nurses: Leading from the front
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 14 2021:
A 31-year-old Covid positive nurse Thangjam Sanjana is determined to join the frontline again and help others fight the dreaded disease.
"I know the virus of the second wave is quite strong.
But still, I am confident that I would recover and join my colleagues who are fighting the disease in the frontline," she said.
The 31-year-old frontline worker from Khurai Thangjam Leikai has been staying under home isolation for the last nine days after she contracted the virus.
She was working in the frontline as a contractual nurse engaged in the State-run mobile vaccination programme until she got infected by the virus.
When asked about her work as a contractual nurse engaged in the frontline, Sanjana said, "I have accepted the harsh reality I face and consider it as part of my profession".
Sanjana said she used to complete her household chores by 9 am and go to her work place.
"The contractual nurses who are engaged in with Covid vaccination programme work for around 8 to 10 hours a day.
Some of the nurses engaged in the registration of names in CoWIN portal continue their work till around 10/11 pm at home after their duties", she said.
Yumnam Bidyarani, 28, another contractual nurse who is posted at Bishnupur COVID Care Centre said working at the centre is quite risky and hectic.
"Nurses at COVID-19 Care Centres often encounter very risky situations and we have fear of possible exposure to the virus.
However, we as nurses have to overcome our fear and attend to patients first.
Duty comes first," said the 28-year-old from Bishnupur Ward No 5 .
On the working conditions, she said wearing PPE kits for 5-6 hours feels suffocating.
The PPE creates a foggy vision inside, she said.
Bidyarani added that the work load in the centre has increased manifold in the second wave as the number of patients infected by the virus has spiked rapidly.