30-year-old Priya* (name changed), a nurse working at Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad has been undergoing treatment after she was tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. The nurse who has put her life on the line, in the battle against COVID-19, is depressed and traumatised due to the rumours that she attended a funeral, potentially infecting scores of them. This rumour has stigmatised the family.

Along with it, a leading Telugu daily on Friday reported that the nurse had succumbed to the disease causing mental trauma.

Adding to these woes, the nurse’s six-year-old daughter too has been admitted in the Gandhi Hospital on Thursday, after showing mild symptoms of the disease. The nurse is also grief -stricken because her four-year-old son who is in home quarantine is refusing to eat food as both her mother and sister are not at home. 

“I am in real depression. My family is suffering a lot because of these rumours,” the nurse said while breaking down. 

On Wednesday, the nurse, who is a resident of Shankarpally in Ranga Reddy district, was tested positive after coming in contact with a security guard from the hospital. The same night after home quarantining her family members, she was rushed to Gandhi Hospital — the hospital dedicated to treat COVID-19 cases.  

It is being rumoured that the nurse attended a funeral of her relative on Wednesday, in her native town in Proddatur near Narsingi, before being admitted in the hospital. While it is true that the nurse made an attempt to attend the funeral, the cremation was completed before she could reach. “The funeral was held at around 1.30 pm, but the nurse and her family reached the village only at around 2.30 pm,” confirmed, Shaikpet Inspector Gopinath Gopu to TNM. 

The indifference of her colleagues has also hurt the nurse. “Nobody has reached out to me asking, how I am doing. My brother-in-law warned me against going to work. He said that I have small kids and I could risk their lives. But it was my responsibility, particularly when there was a major health crisis,” Priya said.

Seeking the government’s intervention to put these rumours to rest, Priya said that she would approach the police. 

Priya is an outsourced employee who has been working in Niloufer Hospital for seven years. After risking the health of her family including children, Priya is contemplating her decision to continue working as a nurse. “My salary is a mere Rs 15,000. We don’t have any benefits of health insurance or life insurance, despite us being in the profession with the highest risk. I regret joining this profession which has endangered our family for just Rs 15,000.”