With no place to isolate himself, an 18-year-old student from Telangana’s Nalgonda, who tested COVID-19 positive on May 4, has been isolating himself on a tree for 11 days to avoid spreading COVID-19 to his family. The student named Shiva built himself a bed made of bamboo sticks fastened to the branches of a tree in the compound of his home and has so far has spent 11 days on it.

Shiva took the decision, keeping in mind the well-being of his family members. With a family of four people, Shiva said that he cannot let anyone get affected because of him, and that’s why he decided to isolate on a tree which is located within the compound of his home.

“There was no isolation centre here. Two days ago, they converted the ST hostel into a centre … up until then we had nothing and I don’t know if there are any such centres in other villages … I don’t think so. What else can I do?,” Shiva said.

“I don’t know if the village volunteers told the sarpanch about me testing positive. No one in my village came forward to help me. They’re all scared of the virus … they’re not stepping out of their homes,” he added.

While in isolation, Shiva mostly spends his time on his mobile phone, which he keeps in a tiny basket tied to the tree. His family members send his daily meals to him through a pulley system that Shiva has fashioned using rope and a bucket. Notably, he was pursuing a graduate course in Hyderabad but had returned to his village about a month ago when cases in the city were rising.

Not just Shiva, many others in the village have been forced to isolate themselves in the same manner. While some are isolating in bathrooms or staying in the fields, others have build makeshift huts using gunny sacks. The total count of coronavirus cases in Telangana crossed 5.28 lakh on Sunday as the state added 3,816 anew while the toll stood at 2955 with 27 more casualties.

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