As Tamil Nadu is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on an unprecedented scale, the officials had spelt a warning for the attendants of the Corona hit patients in the hospital that they could turn into superspreaders as they have been travelling in and out of the hospitals with the observance of close proximity with the Corona patients. 

With the growing number of active cases in the state, several government hospitals are flooded with Corona patients, and besides them, their attendants are putting themselves at risk with a possibility of getting susceptible to the viral infection as the sequel of the vulnerable environment. The officials warn the attendants to take care of themselves and refrain from getting close to the Corona patients. They are also advised to adhere to the strict guidelines while they are in the hospitals. 

The officials say that such attendants may turn into superspreaders and they can infect their family members and the general public as they regularly walk in and out of the hospital. According to reports, several attendants in major cities including Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Chengalpet are spending time with the Corona patients and shared food with them. These attendants are mainly taking the patients to lavatories and taking care of their immediate needs. 

Earlier this week, Director of Public Health Dr TS Selvavinayagam has said that the attendants can cause superspreader events and also has prohibited the entry of visitors and attendants in all Covid wards. However, the prohibitory order wasn't strictly enforced as several government hospitals had allowed the attendants to remain with the Corona patients even without providing the PPE kits. 

Some of the reports say that the attendants aren't wearing masks properly in the hospitals and they are also adjusting oxygen flow and removing IV drips by observing close contact with the Corona-affected patients. Such attendants are exiting the hospital to get food during which they share space with outsiders and they even venture out to several places without adhering to the guidelines properly.

Such attendants are putting themselves and everyone at risk as they may possibly become a carriage of the viral infection. Some of the big government hospitals in the state are recording incessant footfalls of the patients and their attendants as they are consistently walking in and out of the hospitals. The attendants express worry that their dear ones affected by the viral infection in the government hospitals would be left unattended and lonely in the ward. 

The attendants urge the medical staff and nurses at the government hospitals to take care of their dear ones. According to a news agency, one of the attendants in Chennai said, "My husband was moved to the ICU as soon as he was admitted because his condition was critical. After admitting, I decided to leave the ward. However, they told me to stay and I was against that but saw every patient has an attendant." 

The attendant further said, "The attendants were alerting nurses about dipping oxygen levels. I didn't leave the ward because I was scared that my husband would die without care and attention." Her husband had succumbed to the viral infection the next day and after four days, she and her sons had tested positive for the pandemic. Like her, many attendants say that they don't have a choice other than staying with the patients as they fear that their dear ones won't get proper care and attention. 

The anxiety from the attendants had showered light on how patients are getting attended to in the government hospitals in the state. While the state government has been going tough against the people who are found to be violating the home quarantine rules. Such people are imposed with a fine for breaching the protocols and the experts urge the government to allay the fears of the attendants by ensuring that the Corona patients get proper and timely treatment and attention from the medical staff at the hospitals which will reduce the presence of the attendants, thereby curbing the grounds of superspreaders.