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Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal blesses nuns before they started a survey of COVID-19 hotspots in Bhopal city, capital of Madhya Pradesh state, at the request of the city administration. (Photo supplied)
April 24, 2020
Union of Catholic Asian News
Madhya Pradesh state government in central India has called on priests and nuns to identify people with COVID-19 symptoms amid fears of a community spread.
The religious, 31 nuns, four priests and three brothers from more than a dozen congregations completed a three-day survey on April 23 in Covid-19 hotspots of state capital Bhopal.
“We were grouped and assigned COVID-19 hotspots, which are heavily guarded by police at all entry and exit points, not allowing people to move in or out,” said Sister Lizy Thomas, a Holy Spirit nun.Sister Thomas, a social worker, told UCA News that they went house to house to identify people suffering from symptoms such as fever, cold, cough and throat pain.
“We also meticulously recorded such details in a questionnaire given by the government and collected their house number and other contact details and submitted them to state officials,” she said.
The nun said she considers it a state recognition of “our efficiency, readiness and availability for the service of the people, even at a critical time like this.
”Bhopal accounts for more than 300 of some 1,500 positive cases reported in Madhya Pradesh. Indore, the state’s commercial capital, accounts for some 1,000 cases. The state has also recorded 80 deaths that included two police personnel and two doctors.
The volunteers visited 8,624 houses and collected details of 35,994 people, said Sister Frances Regis, president of the Bhopal unit of Catholic Religious of India.
Sister Regis coordinated the project at the request of Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal. Archbishop Cornelio said it was “a risky job, but our nuns and priests lived up to their call and did it very well.”
“The government trusted us and asked us to help in this survey,” the prelate told UCA News.
He said that when he informed the forum of religious about the government request, “they were happy to take up the task despite the threat of contracting the virus from the hotspots.” Father Justin Akkara of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate congregation said it was “a difficult call. But we took it up for our people.”
“We were not afraid. But there were concerns about our personal protection. The government addressed it by providing us with personal protection kit without asking,” the priest told UCA News.Some nuns who joined the project are taking 14 days of self-isolation for the safety of others in the convent, Sister Regis said.
Madhya Pradesh is among many states in India where Christians face hostility from right-wing Hindu groups who try to project Christian charities as a façade for religious conversion.
“It is true, some religious hardliners target us, but we don’t worry about it. We will continue to do our work,” Bishop Cornelio said. “We know most of the right-thinking people know us and our work.”Christian missionaries are always working under challenging missions, and many have given up their lives serving humanity, the bishop said.Prakash Singh Chouhan, the district officer who coordinated the survey, lauded the Catholic volunteers for their service. “They have done the work very honestly,” he told UCA News.
“The health department has identified 1,445 suspected cases from the survey reports, and medical teams will soon take their swab samples,” the official told UCA News.Bhopal also houses more than 500,000 vulnerable survivors of the infamous 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, their children and grandchildren.