Angul: Social stigma associated with coronavirus is the latest evil to grip the society. People are now so afraid about the virus that they are ill-treating their loved ones. A case here bears testimony to this fact.
The family of a 12-year-old girl prevented her from entering the residence when she returned Thursday from Bhubaneswar. She was made to sit under the scorching sun for over three hours. The girl had gone to Bhubaneswar to look after her pregnant sister. She had done so at the request of her brother-in-law.
The family which resides at the Radharamanpada village of this town demanded that she be quarantined. They did so because in the past a number of positive cases had emerged in the state capital. The girl’s brother-in-law had brought her back here and dropped her close to her house. He did so without informing the family members.
However, the family refused her entrance to the house. They demanded that she be put in quarantine. Angul municipality executive officer Binod Chandra Panda however, told the girl’s family that she be put in quarantine facility. The family then contacted Angul district sub-collector Basudev Satapathy. He instructed Panda and the police to intervene.
Panda and police officials reached the village. After much persuasion, the family members agree to take the girl in. She has now been kept under home quarantine.
Later on being informed, district child protection officer Gouri Shankar Behera also visited the family.
Panda said it was social stigma and panic about coronavirus that prompted the family to refuse the girl entry. However, they later relented when informed that quarantine centres were meant to accommodate migrant workers.
The girl’s grandfather said the entire family stays in one room. So it would be difficult for them to put the girl under quarantine at home. That is why they had requested the administration to take the girl to a quarantine centre.
PNN
