Bhubaneswar: After getting denied from extending his admission in an institutional quarantine centre, a man was forced to spend a week in a public toilet for quarantining himself.
The bizarre incident occurred in the Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha when a 28 year old man who had returned from Tamil Nadu to get quarantined in Odisha.
The man had no choice but to spend his home quarantine inside a toilet in Jamugaon village in Nuagaon block. He took the step as he could not accommodate himself in isolation in his home after being discharged from a government-run quarantine centre.
Manas Patrawas was admitted at the government-run temporary medical camp (TMC) at Sudukanthi School and got discharged after seven days. He was working in a company in Tamil Nadu before his quarantine.
After his compulsory one week stay at the TMC, Manas was told to keep himself under self-isolation at his home for another seven days.
The Odisha state government has made it mandatory for returnees in rural areas to undergo seven days’ institutional quarantine, after which asymptomatic persons are to be discharged for undergoing home quarantine for a further period of seven days.
As his home which consists of six family members didn’t have enough space to allow Manas to be in isolation, he had requested for extending his stay in the TMC. However, he was denied permission to stay in the quarantine centre, officials said.
Seeing no other option left, Manas opted to live in the Swachh Bharat toilet built near his home.
He said that he was forced to take shelter in the toilet to make sure that his family members remain safe. He spent seven days from June 9 to 15 in that newly-built toilet.
Lalatendu Parida, Sarpanch of Jamugaon gram panchayat said Manas was discharged from the TMC as he was asymptomatic.
However, as he was told to go in self-isolation without being allowed to stay in TMC, Manas took the step and stayed there for seven days.
The government had advised facilities to offer accommodation at their centres for people who do not have space at home for quarantining.
With the number of cases increasing each day, healthcare facilities are getting saturated in terms of providing beds and staying spaces. People are seen lying in the corridors of hospitals and other rooms due to the lack of rooms and flooding patients.
