48 Hours

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All 17 members of the Garg household

Mukul Garg was not too concerned when His 57-year-old Uncle of fever on 24 April. Then, within 48 Hours , two others in His Family , the 17 was too sick.

The symptoms of trickled in as expected, with the temperature Spike and voices grew hoarse with coughing.

Mr Garg first of all it chalks up to the seasonal flu, not willing to admit, it could be coronavirus.

"Five or six people often get sick in this house, let's not panic," he said to himself.

in The Next few days, five other people in The House showed Covid-19 symptoms. And The Pit in His stomach grew.

Soon, the Garg Family would be tested with its own coronavirus cluster as 11 of its 17 members are positive.

“We met no one from the outside, and nobody came into Our House . But even then, the coronavirus is, in Our House , and infected one after The Other ," the since attracted hundreds of comments from readers.

The exhaustive illustration shows how the multi-generational Family , a pillar of the Indian life, presents a unique challenge in The Fight against Covid-19.

the Land of The strict blockade began on 25. March and lasted until This Week focuses on people At Home , Packed away from its busy streets and in public spaces.

But in India , where 40% of the households have many generations of (often three or even four live together under one roof) include - the Home is a crowded place.

It is also vulnerable, because.

"All the Families under the block to be the Cluster moment someone is infected, it is almost a given," Says virologist Dr Jacob John.

And, as the Gargs are not discovered, social distancing is possible in large Families , especially during a lockdown, if you are already cut off from the outside world.

‘We felt so alone'

The Gargs live in a three-storey house in a Packed neighborhood in North-west Delhi.

Mr Garg, 33, His wife, 30, and her two daughters, aged six and two, live on The Top floor, together with His parents and grandparents.

On the two floors of living among them, His Uncle - His father's Brothers and their Families . The Members range from a four-month-old baby to a bed-ridden grandfather from 90.

you can have My Garg's Uncle , caught The Virus from a vegetable-supplier

in contrast to the narrow common apartment of The Family , where many people in a room and share a bathroom, Garg house is spacious. Each floor is about 250 square meters, about the size of a double tennis court, with three bedrooms, en-suite bathroom and a kitchen.

And yet, The Virus quickly spread, transverse floors, and infected almost all of The Adults in The House .

the Identified Patient Zero - Mr Garg's Uncle , But The Family is still not sure how he caught The Virus .

"We think it could be from a vegetable-seller or from someone in the supermarket because that was the Only time that someone from The Family stepped out," he Says

But as The Virus , fear and shame kept them from to take the test.

“We were 17 of us, But we felt so alone. We fear that if Something Happened , would anyone come to The Funeral , because of the stigma associated with coronavirus?"

But in The First week of May , when His 54-year-old aunt complained of difficulty breathing, The Family rushed her to a hospital. And, Mr Garg Says , you know, they all had to be tested.

‘The month of the disease'

All of May , The Fight against The Virus spent.

Mr Garg Says he would spend hours talking to doctors over The Phone , while everyone checked in with each other via WhatsApp daily.

“We will keep the change of The Position of The Members in dependence of symptoms, so no Two People with a High Fever , in the same room. "

Six of the 11 infected co - morbidities-diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure - what you more vulnerable.

"night, Our House became a Covid-19 hospital with all of us alternately playing nurse," Mr Garg said.

Families are particularly say, susceptible to widespread infection in a lockdown

virologists that large Families are like any other cluster, except for the area at the age.

"If you have a range of age groups, the common areas, The Risk is unevenly distributed, with the older people the most," Says Dr. Partho Sarothi Ray, a virologist.

This weighed heavily that Mr. Garg, who is worried about His 90-year-old grandfather.

But The Virus , to confuse the more, by medical experts around The World , also held surprises for the Gargs.

It was not unusual that he and His wife, both in their early 30s, were asymptomatic. But it was confusing that His grandfather asymptomatic. And a member of The Family who had no comorbidities, was taken to a hospital. The Other showed typical symptoms.

Mr Garg Says that he wrote the blog because he wanted to reach out to the people looking for worried about help.

“at the beginning, we cared so much about what people would think. And reading the comments, it is so nice to see that people are saying, it's ok if you get it, it is not something to be ashamed of. "

In The Second week of May , the symptoms started to disappear, and The Family watched as more and more negative tests rolled in, bringing relief. This Was also when Mr Garg, the aunt was released from the hospital, after a negative Test.

you finally feel the worst was over.

until The End of May - "month of disease", as Mr Garg called it Only three people, including him, were still positive.

1. June,, instead they got tested for The Third time and the results came back negative.

"Our best" and "worst'

India is for large Families can be a source of support and care, But also the friction and thorny property disputes. But in times like these, you can also come to The Rescue .

“Can you imagine, to help older people in quarantine, all alone with no one? Despite The Challenges , joint Families , the care of The Old ," Dr. John benefit of the boys Says .

cases in India have sprinted past the 250,000-mark, whereby a debate on the question of whether or how Young People take care of it carry the infection Home to older Relatives .

India This Week re-opened after a strict lockdown

"It is a system that has survived for hundreds of years by an onslaught of Western values and colonization," Says Prof Kiran Lamba Ji, who teaches sociology at Kanpur CSJM University. “Coronavirus is not to destroy the common Family . "

The Gargs would agree.

Before The Virus struck, was to prosper The Family . It was almost reminiscent of a 90s Bollywood movie, Mr Garg Says .

“As A Family , we had never spent so much time together as we The First month of the lockdown. There is also the happiest The Family had ever been to," he Says , adding that it made it Only harder, As One person after The Other , sick.

"We saw each other at our best and worst, But we have it better," he Says .

“We are still wary of re-infection, But now, we are basking in The Glory that we managed to beat this virus and come out The Other Side . "

india, coronavirus pandemic, delhi, india coronavirus lockdown, asia

Source of news: bbc.com