The situation of pandemic with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that began in China has been very anxious and fearful all over the world. However, the frontline workers and especially the doctors who worked and are still working day and night to save thousands of lives, putting their lives at stake, the whole world stands grateful for them. Although we have them in our prayers every day, there can’t be a better day than today, i.e. 1st July, as we celebrate Doctors’ Day across India, to thank them. Doctors’ Day is celebrated across the globe on different dates. In India, it was first celebrated on 1st July 1991, with a motive to thank all the doctors and physicians for their noble service to mankind. This year the theme of Doctors’ Day as announced by the Indian Medical Association is “Lessen the mortality of COVID-19”. Let’s see what our experts have to say about it and how they are dealing with the situation.
Dr. Meeta, Gynecologist and Obstetrician says, “The theme sounds more like a dream, but I hope that it comes true and the COVID-19 gets eradicated very soon. It has been a difficult and disturbing phase for all, but we have to move with it. We have developed an SOP and are following all the guidelines laid by medical associations and government. It is difficult to work with all the equipment, but we don’t have any other choice”.
The situations seem to worsen as the country is unlocking.
Dr. Rahul Reddy, Andrologist explains, “It is predicted that we might reach the peak in the coming 15 days. It is better to avoid the infection than to think about mortality. Not just public but the doctors too are at a high risk. Even after wearing all the gears, doctors are getting infected, which is a big issue that is coming up.”
The toll of people getting cured is rising, which is a good sign and it shows that we have learned a lot about COVID-19 since it first started to spread. However, conditions for doctors have been very challenging and Dr. Rajesh Vukkala, General Physician mentions, “We have been overburdened with patients and have to wear PPE kits all the time, due to which we are deprived of food and fluids and are not allowed to use toilets. Thus, indirectly, we as doctors are depriving ourselves of all the essential things that are important for our immunity and we are getting more prone to the virus. But we accept the challenge and hope that people will be more responsible towards the virus”.
Dr. Vijayanand Jamalpuri, Neonatologist explains that more weightage should be given to prevention rather than cure. “To decrease the mortality, we need to decrease the number of cases and decrease the morbidity”.
Messages For Public
Stay Home
Dr. Meeta says, “Follow the rules and stay home. Don’t venture out or come to the hospital unless extremely necessary and prefer tele-medicene”.
Prevent It
“Apart from general precautions, practise gargling with warm salt water and keep your immunity boosted. Don’t take medicines without consultation as it may cause side effects” suggests Dr. Rahul.
Be Cautious
Dr. Vijayanand says, “In spite of lakhs of cases, people are not following proper instructions because of optimism bias, where people are not much affected by the situation unless they see someone close to them suffering from it. And therefore, people need to change this attitude and understand the severity of this disease”.
They all have repeatedly requested to follow the general preventive measures and to stay home unless extremely necessary. Thus, we as a responsible citizen must abide by it and wish for their wellbeing.
We wish all the doctors a happy and safe Doctors’ Day and assure them that “We are in this together and we support you”!
