Indian expat in UAE shares pain of losing five relatives, including his brother, to COVID-19 back home

Dubai: An Indian expatriate within the UAE has shared the painful story of dropping 5 of his kinfolk, together with his personal brother, inside a span of 40 days lately.

Pankaj Agarwal, 50, an engineering marketing consultant in Dubai, misplaced his brother, uncle, aunt and their two sons to COVID-19 within the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

When his cell rang on April 15 morning, Pankaj didn't realise that it might deliver the surprising information of the start of a sequence of deaths in his household.

“I was preparing to go to work at a construction site when I got a call from my mother who lives in India. She informed me that my maternal aunt (mother’s sister-in-law), Amita Agarwal, was no more. She was 61 and it was a sudden death after contracting COVID-19 in Prayagraj.”

Pankaj left for work with a heavy coronary heart, fascinated by his departed aunt and her household, who've been very hooked up to him and battling COVID-19 at the moment.

“My house is in Lucknow, but I studied in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad). I used to visit my grandma living with them almost every week and I have very fond memories from those days. Even during my vacations from here, I would visit them regularly and spend time with them,” stated Pankaj who has been dwelling within the UAE for 20 years.

Three days later, on April 18, Pankaj bought one other name that his maternal uncle Virendra Agarwal’s well being was deteriorating. “He was 70. He suddenly started gasping and struggling to breathe. At the same time, two of his sons Vikas, 42, and Vishal, 37, were also suffering breathing problems.”

“Their wives rushed them to different hospitals. But, none of the hospitals would admit them without an RT-PCR positive report. Moreover, most of the hospitals were fully occupied at that point of time. There were no beds available then.”

Pankaj stated he suggested his kinfolk to rearrange oxygen cylinders.

“My uncle’s second son Vijay, 40, somehow arranged one cylinder for Rs15,000. The whole night three of them were sharing that one cylinder.”

The following day, Vishal Agarwal died whereas his father and brother have been nonetheless struggling to get admitted in any of the hospitals in Prayagraj.

“Through internet, we were also looking for availability of beds for them. It was all occupied everywhere. The sad part was that neighbours were afraid to come to their house. Nobody was able to support them due to the fear of infection.”

On April 20, they each bought beds in several hospitals. “My uncle was admitted in a government hospital and his son Vikas was admitted in a private COVID-19 hospital as by then they had got the RT-PCR positive report.”

Pankaj stated the sufferers nonetheless struggled with no correct services on the hospitals. “There was no availability of oxygen-cylinders, ventilators and lifesaving drugs in both the hospitals, which were fully occupied at that time. My uncle died that night in the hospital, while Vikas died four days later.”

Aside from the COVID-19 problems, Vikas was additionally underneath despair because of the deplorable state of affairs on the hospital, he stated.

“When we spoke to him on mobile, we came to know that the situation in the hospital was pathetic. Nobody was attending to patients. People were crying for help. There was no proper sanitation or cleanliness. He said even non-COVID patients would not survive there. Vikas continuously kept pleading to be taken out of the hospital. We were so helpless. We couldn’t do anything.”

When Vikas additionally handed away, just one male member was left behind in Pankaj’s uncle’s household — his cousin Vijay.

“He was also infected. We struggled to console the wives of all three cousins. All their wives were also infected and were devastated. They have small daughters. There was no other male member to take care of them.”

With the bitter expertise they confronted within the hospitals, he stated, the household then determined to not get Vijay admitted although his lungs have been additionally affected.

“His lungs were 65 per cent affected. But he survived using oxygen cylinders at home and medicines prescribed by doctors through teleconsultation. He became COVID-free after ten days of home treatment. But, he still cannot move out. His wife is taking care of him.”

As his members of the family have been struggling to return to phrases with the lack of his uncle, aunt and two sons, tragedy struck Pankaj’s household again dwelling in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. His youthful brother Neeraj Agarwal, 48, handed away after a 15-day battle with COVID-19.

“He was admitted to a local private hospital first. After a week, he got moved to another private hospital because the treatment at the first hospital was not satisfactory. The second hospital charged the family an exorbitant amount. Even then they could not save my brother. By God’s grace, his wife and daughter survived.”

Pankaj stated he felt helpless as he was unable to journey dwelling on account of journey restrictions and lockdowns again dwelling. “My youngest brother Amit, who lives in Rudrapur, performed the last rites of Neeraj. I was supposed to do it. My sister Vijeyta, who lives in Delhi, also went home to console my mother and Neeraj’s family. I could only call them up regularly.”

He stated he was anguished at COVID-19 dying instances nonetheless rising in Uttar Pradesh.

“The situation there has improved after the lockdown was enforced. Due to the impact of COVID-19, many working members, especially men, are dying and the families are left with ladies and children with the burden of liabilities and to make both ends meet. What would be the future of those children? Our political leaders should think about them and support the insecure families and protect the society.”

He additionally referred to as for pressing intervention of the authorities in guaranteeing correct well being care, particularly for COVID-19 sufferers, and to place an finish to the exploitation of sufferers’ households.

Pankaj stated he felt blessed to be dwelling within the UAE and thanked the leaders for guaranteeing the welfare of the residents and residents right here even in the course of the pandemic.

Greater than 1.68 million have been contaminated in Uttar Pradesh with 19,519 deaths as of Wednesday.