Ahmedabad: In new wave, entire families test positive for coronavirus

Subir Paul (name changed), a high-ranking executive with an MNC, recently tested positive. “I believe it started with my son getting infected – he used to go for his cricket practice occasionally for the past few days. He had no symptoms except mild cold and cough.

But as the symptoms got aggravated, we got him tested and the result came positive,” he recounts. “In a matter of days, I along with my wife, my elder brother’s family and my younger son also got infected.”

Except Paul, others’ health improved during their isolation but Paul had to take a jab. “I’m feeling better now,” he said on Saturday.


It’s not just his household – the third wave has turned the Covid-19 infection into a family affair. Dr Pragnesh Vaccharajani, a city-based physician, said that during the early waves, more than one family members were getting infected, but it was a rarity. “Now we see the cases where four to five members of a family test positive simultaneously or one after the other,” he said.

Dr Bharat Gadhvi, president of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA), said that a large number of home care patients with several private hospitals are households with multiple patients. “But on the positive side, we are not witnessing many severe cases. I believe that the spread is higher due to milder symptoms that doesn’t alarm the person for 2-3 initial days,” he said.

Kalpana Patel, a resident of Gandhinagar, said that her husband got tested after he felt nauseous. “He tested positive. To protect others, he got admitted in hospital. Soon after, all three members – me, my father-in-law and my daughter – also tested positive one after another. As we did not have major symptoms, we completed our treatment at home,” she said.