DELHI (UCAN): “Our priority now is to save as many lives as possible,” Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state, said. Movement has been restricted because of a strict lockdown in light of a second wave of Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infections sweeping the country.
The archbishop said that the archdiocese is reaching out to as many people as possible through neighbourhood networks to provide food and medical help including arranging hospitals and getting patients admitted.
“Now our religion is humanity as it connects us with God,” the archbishop said.
Last year, during the first wave of the pandemic, Catholic activists helped migrant workers with cooked meals, drinking water and other basic requirements. “The priority has changed now,” he said.
As more than 300,000 people have been getting infected daily across India for almost a month, medical facilities are overwhelmed. Hospitals continue to report a shortage of staff, oxygen and medicines.
Despite best efforts, “many people die for want of medical care as hospitals including Catholic facilities are unable to accommodate even seriously affected people,” Archbishop Thakur said.
On May 12, India reported 4,120 Covid-19 deaths and 348,000 new cases, taking total cases to 23.7 million.
‘We are providing medical care to people under trees and makeshift tents as our priority is to save as many lives as possible’
Bishop Jose Chittooparambil
“Our hospitals are full and we have no way to accommodate more patients,” said Bishop Jose Chittooparambil of Rajkot, in Gujarat state, one of the worst-hit areas.
“We are now busy equipping our clinics in villages with the minimum needed facilities and medicine to attend to Covid-19 patients. Critical patients are referred to nearby government-designated Covid-19 hospitals,” Bishop Chittooparambil said.
“We are providing medical care to people under trees and makeshift tents as our priority is to save as many lives as possible,” he said adding that suspected patients who need home quarantine are provided accommodation in church buildings.
Most village families live together in small mud houses where suspected patients cannot live in quarantine.
The Diocese of Rajkot is distributing cooked food to 100 families where all members are infected and unable to prepare food.
‘Our priority is to make health care affordable to the needy in this crisis when hospital beds are becoming scarce’
Father Jacob Palackappilly
The Archdiocese of Delhi, also badly hit by the pandemic, is in contact with families who have lost members and providing online counselling, said Father Savarimuthu Sankar, the archdiocesan spokesperson.
“We also distribute raw food to poor families through parishes to ensure they do not suffer because of job losses on account of the lockdown,” he said. The archdiocese is helping Covid-19 patients who cannot return to their homes with temporary accommodation.
The Archdiocese of Bombay in Maharashtra state opened help desks providing counselling, medical assistance and help in finding hospital beds and ambulances to those needing critical care.
These desks also provide free medical consultancy with doctors, said Father Nigel Barrett, the spokesperson of Oswald Cardinal Gracias, of Bombay.
“Our effort is to provide every help possible to ensure that no one dies without medical care for want of information,” said Father Barrett, who is among those coordinating archdiocesan efforts in one of the hardest-hit cities.
“Our work … extends to everyone irrespective of caste, creed or religion,” he said.
Catholic hospitals in Kerala state have spearheaded a movement against private hospitals trying to exploit the situation by overcharging for medical facilities.
“Our priority is to make health care affordable to the needy in this crisis when hospital beds are becoming scarce,” Father Jacob Palackappilly, deputy secretary general of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC), said. The council instructed Catholic hospitals to set an example by providing affordable medical care to everyone battling the pandemic.
The state High Court also criticised private hospitals charging exorbitant fees for Covid-19 patients and asked the government to limit treatment charges. On May 10 a cap was set on hospitals’ fees.
The KCBC also offers online counselling and help desks “as part of our initiative to be with the people,” Father Palackappilly said.
Some dioceses in Kerala also distribute medical kits to families that contain a pulse oximeter, digital thermometer, inhaler, mask and sanitiser to help people monitor their health condition so that they rush to hospital only when necessary.
