‘Precautions must to keep disease at bay’

Minister for Industries and Commerce Sunder Sham Arora was busy meeting people and solving their problems, when one day he felt slightly uneasy. It was then that he decided to get tested. He went for a rapid antigen test in Hoshiarpur and tested negative, but he thought of getting tested again in Chandigarh, where his report came out positive in the RT-PCR test. He goes on to share his experience...

"Most of the time I remained busy meeting people to solve their issues. But one day I felt that the body was not as active as it was a day before and I thought I should go for a Covid test. I went for rapid antigen test in Hoshiarpur, which was negative even though I quarantined myself. After that, I went to Chandigarh and the RT-PCR test was done, in which I tested positive. I immediately went in isolation and informed people about me testing positive and requested all those who had come in contact with me to get themselves tested, through social media.

"The first three-four days were difficult and I had fever, which made me feel restless. I felt very weak. Later, by following the advice of doctors and taking medicines, my health started improving. Religious scriptures and motivational quotes strengthened my willpower and I started recovering.

"I am used to meeting a large number of people and working throughout the day. But Covid confined me indoors. The calls of well-wishers boosted my morale and the calls of those who were seeking help for their own work made me gather my strength and I started working from home by calling people, taking meetings online and performing my duties as a minister through video-conferencing. Even then, there was a plenty of time left, which I devoted to prayers and the Almighty responded swiftly. The next week was better both in terms of health and mindset after testing negative.

"I was once again among people, listening to them and helping them as much as I could. If you have any symptom, it's better to quarantine yourself than risk your near and dear ones' life. Follow doctors' advice and pray to god. No disease can stop you for long but precaution is a must and one should maintain social distance, wear masks and follow corona-prevention protocols."