On Friday, after receiving an SOS call from a tribal settlement in the Attapadi forest division of Palakkad district, where three members of a family had a high fever, a group of health workers of Puthur Primary Health Center in Kerala’s Thrissur set out on the journey to reach the village. However, the village is located a few kilometers inside the forest and vehicles can only reach up to the banks of the Bhavani River.
Despite the roadblocks, crossing the river and also the trekking of another eight km inside the Attappadi forest, a team comprising Dr. Sukanya, health inspector Sunil Vasu, junior health inspector Saiju and driver Sajesh reached the village on Saturday morning and conducted antigen tests on 30 people of which seven turned out to be positive for Covid-19. The infected individuals were shifted to the Puthur Domiciliary Care Centre.
Talking about the same, Dr. Sukanya said, this is not a new thing for us as we usually go there for monthly medical camps. But this time around when we reached the riverbank, the water level was quite high. We didn’t have a choice but to cross the river on foot. It was a little risky and some of us fell down while crossing. Once we crossed it was a trek into the forest for about 2 km.”
The doctor also received a call from Kerala Health Minister Veena George. Sukanya added, “it was a pleasant surprise that the minister called. I never expected it. The minister congratulated us and it was indeed a great motivation for our work.”
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