India / Delhi doctor comes home, 30 mins away from hospital, after 6 months amid COVID-19

New Delhi: A 52-year-old doctor serving at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital in Delhi reached home in Kamla Nagar, located just 13 km away from the hospital, after almost six months. Medical duty and fear of bringing the virus home kept him away.

Family welcomes doctor home

Doctor Ajit Jain, the nodal officer for novel coronavirus at RGSSH, reached home on Thursday by availing his first leave after continuously working for 175 days. His two daughters hugged him after opening the door when he arrived. His wife performed an ‘aarti’ and also applied a ‘tilak’ on his forehead while his son filmed a video of the emotional homecoming. He had returned home for the first time since March 17.

Jain said that in the beginning, he did not go home because he feared exposing his family members to the deadly virus. He said, “Both my parents are aged above 75. I was worried about them didn’t want to put their lives in jeopardy.” Later, when the hospital got overwhelmed with patients as the contagious virus spread, he found it impossible to talk to his family even on phone calls. His daughters often asked him when he would come home. “Saving lives was the first priority. There was so much going on. I could talk to my family only at night, around 1 or 2 am,” Jain told PTI.

Family was worried about his well being, says daughter

The doctor’s daughter, Arushi Jain, said that the family was concerned for him as the cases kept rising. They were “freaking out” as several doctors had died after getting infected with the virus, she said, adding that they would stay awake till 2 am to speak to him on call for about five minutes every day.

The Delhi government made stay arrangements for the healthcare professionals at Leela Ambience hotel. However, Jain spent several sleepless nights at the hospital, treating COVID-19 patients.

Doctor shared his personal number with patients

The doctor shared his personal phone number with all the COVID-19 patients. He received calls from patients after every five minutes. For the first three months, he couldn’t sleep for 15 minutes in a stretch as patients kept calling him. He has also created several WhatsApp groups for keeping in touch with over 1,500 patients.