The home of a COVID-19 patient was sealed immediately after the person reached back home following treatment from a hospital in Pallavaram. The Pallavaram Municipality sealed the home using a long metal sheet despite protests by neighbours and family members. The family has four members including a heart patient who recently underwent a bypass heart surgery.
The issue came to light immediately after NGO Arappor Iyakkam posted an image of the sealed home on their social media account. The image showed a worker sealing the door using a vertical metal sheet. The sheet was also hammered to the door preventing people from coming out of the house even incase of emergency.
According to a report, a family of four including a 50-year-old man was residing in the house. The 50-year-old man tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection a few days back and was receiving treatment in a nearby hospital. The man responded to treatment and was discharged from hospital following recovery on Monday.
The patient reached his home on Monday and to his shock found the municipality workers coming to block the main entrance of the apartment. The people of the apartment staged a protest following which the worker decided to seal the apartment unit of the COVID-19 patient.
The Pallavaram Municipality Commissioner Mathivanan ordered the workers to seal the home, says Arappor Iyakkam. However, a report said that officials of Pallavaram Municipality claimed that they were following the instructions from Tamil Nadu Health Department officials.
Another report said that the sheet was removed following protest. The issue of sealing homes has been reported in a few cases before this.