Covid-19 warrior in Bengaluru catches the attention of Bill Gates

Bengaluru: Shilpashree makes sure she wears the entire PPE suit, gloves and a mask to protect herself against Covid-19 before she steps into Covid-19 kiosk at Jigani Primary Health Care Center.

Every morning till evening, Shilpashree sits inside a small cubicle, a box of aluminium with a glass pane that looks like a public telephone booth of the olden days. From inside the tiny cubicle, she collects samples of suspected Covid-19-infected individuals who stand in front of the glass exterior, a see-through, airtight partition. Armed with a protective gown, arm-length rubber gloves and a face mask, Shilpashree directs the suspected patient to bring the nose closer and then takes nasal swabs from the patient through a small circular opening in the glass ­door.

The entire process takes about five minutes and the booth is then disinfected once the nasal swabs are taken from the suspected Covid-19 patient. This had been her routine for the last few months.

At the Jigani Primary Health Care Center in the city, Shilpashree collects anywhere between 50 to 60 swab samples, each day, not quite an easy task. The duty hours are long. The airtight cubicle and the medical gown only makes things even tougher. Shilpashree and many like her wear the suit for more than eight hours which makes them uncomfortably hot.

"I come out of the kiosk, sometimes completely sweat-soaked. Besides, there is always this gnawing fear of getting infected. "I know we can easily contract the virus, but it's my duty to keep people safe. But this is the best way to ensure that the positive cases get isolated and their immediate contacts get quarantined. Swab collection can be done here in less than five minutes and will protect health care workers," says Shilpashree who believes ag­gressive testing will contain the spread of the virus. The larger and painful aspect is Shilpshree has opted to stay away from her family to protect her loved ones from the threat of the virus. "I had to stay away from my family for the last five months. Emotionally, it is definitely taxing. I make video calls, that's the only way I can see and talk to them," she said.

Karnataka's Covid positive caseload breached the grim milestone of 4 lakh, including 6,808 deaths. Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases with a total of 1,57,044 infections. While Bengaluru continues its combat against Covid-19, there are lakhs of frontline warriors like Shilpashree who are ensuring peoples safety living away from their families. Shilpashree is a special one though rather a chosen one. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in GatesNotes wrote of her, "These heroes represent the best of who we can be. Their efforts to solve the world's challenges demonstrate our values as a society and they serve as powerful examples of how to make a positive difference in the world."

Headlined '7 unsung heroes of the pandemic', Bill Gates talks about seven individuals from the around the world working to alleviate the suffering during this pandemic. Basira Popul in Afghanistan; Thabang Seleke in Sowento, South Africa; Sikander Bizenjo in Pakistan;

Sister Banda in Zambia; Ethel Branch in Arizona; Laxmi Rayamajhi in Nepal. Shilpashree from Bengaluru is among the privileged seven individuals who grabbed the attention of Bill Gates

although there are lakhs of frontline warriors like her who are doing their bit to alleviate the suffering of people during this pandemic.