When duty calls

On March 28, Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) in Barishal readied a 11-member roster -- three doctors, six nurses, and five technologists -- to work at its 150-bed Corona Isolation Unit from the next day. However, four out of the five technologists backed out almost immediately.

They all feared for their lives -- and came up with alibis to exclude themselves from the job, leaving Bibhuti Bhushan Halder as the only swab collector at the hospital.

It's not like Bibhuti did not think of excuses as well. He went home in great anxiety, over his own life and for the safety of his family, and spent the night in distress.

He went over all issues at hand. The danger, potential for hazard, his inexperience and lack of training for this -- everything that he could think of.

But then it dawned on him, and he woke up with his mind made. "Well, someone has to do it," Bibhuti told himself.

The following morning, his parents and siblings gathered around their breakfast table to bid him farewell. "My mother (Ranjana Haldar) asked me if there was any way to avoid the duty. But after a while, she understood the situation and blessed me on my journey," he said.

"I'm sending you to serve people in need. They are also someone's daughters, sons, mothers, and fathers," Ranjana told her son.

Bibhuti's father Sudangshu Haldar is a retired assistant cashier of the same hospital. He too blessed his son and asked him to give it his best shot.

Ever since, Bibhuti has been working tirelessly, not even going home from March 29 out of concern of spreading the virus to his family. "I have to work in the unit daily for about 8-10 hours. I feel homesick, but I cannot risk spreading the virus."

The hospital authorities arranged his accommodation at the hostel of Caritas -- a welfare organisation by Catholic Bishops in Bangladesh, half a kilometre away from the hospital. But it's not like he can sleep well, his nights haunted by the burdens of the day. "I cannot sleep thinking of the fear, sufferings and anxiety of the patients."

Amidst all of this, Bibhuti is left high and dry by the hospital authorities on one front: food. For all his work, dawn to dusk without any leave from the first day, the technologist still has to worry about arranging for his own food, which can become a headache for someone working on a contagious disease.

As the thought of spreading the virus accompanies him all the time, he prevents himself from going out of the isolation unit during his shift. Sometimes, though he is hungry, he continues to work through his hours and can only get a meal once he's back at the hostel.

There's a lot of social anxiety that comes with the job too. "When I go to the hospital store to collect my PPE, my colleagues avoid me. I know this is normal, and I encourage it, but I can't help but feel a lot of pain," Bibhuti said.

Dr Bakir Hossain, director of SBMCH, said, "We are proud of Bibhuti. When all else looked away, he alone took up the responsibility. He is a real hero."

Asked about Bibhuti's food troubles, Dr Bakir said, "We have already written to higher authorities to sanction special food allowance and other benefits for him."

Contacted yesterday, Bibhuti said law enforcement agencies have started to provide food support to him for the last couple of days. "Besides, the hospital authorities and district administration have arranged a room for me at a hotel in the city," he said.