Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally reaching out to a wide range of people to boost morale in the midst of the 21-day nationwide lockdown. On Friday, he made phone calls to Kashmiri medical student Nizamur Rehman who recently returned from China and also to Chhaya Jagtap, a nurse from Pune who has been treating Covid-19 patients. Rehman, along with 60 other Kashmiri students, was evacuated from Wuhan in China in February, where the coronavirus outbreak first began. Modi enquired about his well-being and then asked how he felt when the news of the virus first emerged in Wuhan. “Initially we were very tense but then thanks to the Indian government we were evacuated safely,” Rehman said, thanking the PM. “We were treated very nicely. We got all kinds of medical facilities, food and we were also able to play indoor games (while in quarantine)… We were a group of 60 students from Kashmir and all are safely back in their home now,” Rehman informed. Modi also spoke to Pune-based nurse Chhaya Jagtap on the phone. Lauding her efforts in Marathi, he asked her if she worries about herself and her family. “Yes I do get concerned about myself and my family but work is work. We have to serve the people,” she said, adding that when Covid-19 patients come to the hospital, many of them are scared and worried. Modi also asked if patients’ families create any issues with the doctors and nurses that disrupts their work. “We do not let any of the family members come in. Patients get treated in isolation. We only look after them. Nobody is allowed to meet these patients who remain quarantined,” she responded.
