Unlock 2.0 Diary, Day 29: Covid positive woman gives birth to healthy twins; student asked to leave varsity hostel

Here are some interesting stories on day 29 of Unlock 2.0.

Even as coronavirus infections in India crossed the 15 lakh-mark to reach 1,531,669 cases, including 34,193 deaths, the government on Wednesday issued fresh guidelines for Unlock 3.0. As per the guidelines, night curfew in public movement has been removed, and yoga institutes and gymnasiums will now be allowed to open from August 5, provided Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is followed.

There shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission, approval or e-permit will be required for such movements, as per the unlock 3.0 guidelines.

However, operation schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till August 31. Besides, metro rail, cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls shall remain closed.

As we enter third phase of unlocking, here are some interesting stories on day 29 of Unlock 2.0:

Covid-positive woman gives birth to healthy twins in Meghalaya

A COVID-positive woman gave birth to healthy twins at a hospital in Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills district, officials said on Wednesday. The baby girls and their mother are doing well, the said. “The woman was admitted to the Jowai Civil Hospital o Sunday around 4 am and delivered the twins later that day, its superintendent Rita Pohrmen said. The woman had comorbidities and she was tested fo COVID-19, the report of which came in as positive on Tuesday she said.

As the report came in as positive, all the newborn and their mothers at the maternity ward have been shifted t the MCH Hospital in Jowai and all of them will be tested fo COVID-19 as per the protocols. The twin babies are at present under observations.

Pandemic parents: ‘First-timers’ navigate lockdown hurdles to embrace parenthood

Parenthood can be daunting at the best of times but when it happens for the first time and that too in the middle of a pandemic without the family-friends support structure, well that’s when it takes on a whole new dimension exciting but oh-so-scary. The spread of COVID-19 has deprived thousands of young couples of the support system of parents, parents-in-law and even distant relatives who are ready with tips and tricks to help them transition into parenthood. And sometimes there is no domestic help either. Just ask Vinolia and Ravi Sadrani, a Mumbai couple who had their first baby during lockdown when they were not stepping out of their homes and no one was coming in either.

In March this year, when the lockdown to stem the spread of the disease was imposed, Vinolia was nine months pregnant, just days away from becoming a mother. It was a tense, anxious and physically exhausting time.

“Right after conceiving we were told it is going to be a complicated pregnancy and we would have to go for a caesarean delivery. So obviously we knew we would need a lot of assistance. This was our first child and we knew nothing,” Vinolia, who gave birth to their daughter Ruhi on April 27, told PTI.

In a classic case of so near and yet so far, Vinolia’s mother who lives in another part of Mumbai couldn’t come and she couldn’t go either.

“Once the lockdown was announced, not only did the possibility of getting some extra help from our parents disappear but whatever little help we had in the form of the maid was also gone,” the 29-year-old said.

The process of having a child in itself is trying, and the stress increased exponentially due to the pandemic and the lockdown.

Student with nowhere to go asked to leave varsity hostel in Covid time

An impoverished under-graduate student of Presidency University, who was abandoned by his father many years ago, on Wednesday claimed that the hostel authorities are pressuring him to vacate his room immediately but he has nowhere to go in the country. Johny Biswas, second-year UG student of Bengali, said his mother was living in misery at her brother’s place in Bangladesh after his father deserted her too, and he would have to live on footpath or kill himself if he is forced to leave the Eden Hindu Hostel. University officials said students are not allowed to stay in hostels because of the COVID-19 pandemic but they will enquire into the plight of Biswas.

“Once the lockdown started, I along with some other was stuck (in the hostel) but we thought it will be over afte some time and the authorities will declare the hostel to ope again. However as the situation continued and, now I hav nowhere to go,” the student said. Biswas, who gets a scholarship, does not have an relative living in India from whom he can seek help. He used to stay at a friends place during his high school days but he is also now not ready to take him back. “If I am forced to leave the hostel, I will either have to live on footpath or kill myself. But if I die by suicide, all my battle for myself and my mother will come to nothing,” he said.