Despite beating COVID, man ‘sealed’ into apartment with family

Chennai

While officials from Pallavaram Municipalitymaintained that they were following instructions from the HealthDepartment, other residents there noted the irony that the municipalitydid not do anything when the patient was tested positive but wasbarricading the house after the person recovered.

After neighbours took to social media to highlight how there was no way to supply provision to them because the entrance to the house on the first floor was covered with tin sheets, officials asked workers to leave an opening on top of the door.

One of the family members, a 50-year-old man, had tested positive for coronavirus infection two weeks ago. After he returned home on Monday following treatment and recovery, workers from Pallavaram Municipality came there to block the entrance to the whole building. However, when other residents opposed the complete closure of the building, the workers sealed the main door of the apartment with tin sheets, leaving no space to provide them essentials.

This left the four-member family, one of whom is a heart patient, locked inside the house with no option of getting out even in the case of an emergency. Also, because the house is on the first floor, they also had no way to collect essentials or provision.

When the family’s predicament made its way to social media, officials from the municipality came to the apartment to inspect and directed workers to leave an opening on top of the sheet to supply essentials.

The officials claimed that they were locking the house as per the direction from the Health Department. The tin sheets would be removed once the quarantine period was over, officials said, adding that municipality staff would attend to all needs of the residents till then.