Andhra woman refuses husband’s entry to home without Covid test

Amaravati, April 17 (IANS): The surging fears and stigma over coronavirus infection forced a woman in Andhra Pradesh refused entry to her husband in the house, till he underwent Covid-19 test.

The incident occurred in Venkatagiri in Nellore district when the man stuck in Nellore since the lockdown began finally returned to his home town.

The man, working in a gold shop in Nellore, was stranded there since lockdown was enforced last month. He finally succeeded in reaching Venkatagiri on Wednesday. However, his wife asked him to first undergo the screening for coronavirus before entering the house.

She said this was necessary for the safety of the children and the community. She suggested he stay in a local Anganwadi centre and requested volunteers to get a test done on him.

The health personnel later took the man to Nellore, where his samples were collected. The test result was negative, much to the relief of the man and his family.

“I would not have risked the lives of children and those living in the neighbourhood. That’s why I insisted that he enter the house after undergoing the test,” the woman said, defending her move.

In a similar incident early this week, a village sarpanch in Telangana did not allow her mother to return home from another village due to strict enforcement of lockdown after a man tested positive.