Husband broken, says family depended on her, was brilliant with the kids

New Delhi: "Us raat bina oxygen support rehna use bhari pad gaya" (Lack of oxygen support that night took a toll on her), lamented Razeqeen (48), who lost his wife, 35-year-old ASHA worker Nurmah Naz, last month after she contracted Covid-19.

Naz was among the 15 ASHA workers deputed at the Mustafabad government dispensary and are currently carrying out door-to-door Covid testing and patient supervision among residents.

Naz went through an open-heart surgery a few months back, following which she resumed work. However, on April 17, two weeks after getting her first Covid vaccine, Naz fell ill and was rushed to the GB Pant Hospital where doctors said that she will have to undergo another operation since her heart condition had resurfaced. "A day later she tested positive for Covid...they didn't conduct her surgery and referred her to LNJP Hospital where her condition stabilised…" Razeqeen told Millennium Post.

However, Razeqeen said that Naz didn't want to stay inside the hospital and wanted to go back home "even if it meant dying in her own house". "However, her condition again worsened and we took her to GB Pant (Hospital), but the doctors there refused to admit her saying she was responsible for infecting doctors and staff treating her and referred her again to LNJP (Hospital) but Naz didn't want to get admitted there as she said the arrangements there were bad…" he further said.

Thereafter, Naz's oxygen levels started dipping and Razeqeen and other family members ran helter-skelter to arrange an oxygen cylinder but to no avail. "She would have survived if we had got the oxygen supply or if the hospital would have provided her, no one helped us…" he claimed.

"I am completely broken, I was dependent on her for everything...she knew so much about medicines and healthcare, and was a brilliant teacher to our children," her husband said.

Before starting work as an ASHA, Naz used to teach children at a nearby school following which she worked as a Nurse at a private hospital. Her 14-year-old daughter, and a 12 and 8-year-old son haven't yet realised that their mother has passed away, Razeqeen added.

Naz is among at least two workers in the city who have died of the virus. Last year, at least four ASHA workers died after contracting Covid.

Fellow workers mourn a huge vacuum left by Naz who they claim was the brightest and most educated ASHA worker among the lot. "She was very focussed in her work and used to help out colleagues...she was very ambitious and was always on top of everything," said a fellow ASHA worker.

Another colleague said that Naz was like a sister to them who religiously carried out her duties and was always there to guide them. "We never expected this...we got to know about her only when she died...we then went to her house to console her family," she said.

Moreover, several workers alleged that the Delhi government is yet to provide them sufficient safety equipment. "We were given three soaps, five masks, a pair of gloves and two sanitisers five months back after which we bought them from our own salary," one of the workers claimed.

"We draw a salary of Rs 3,000 per month, which often gets slashed to Rs 500 if we don't earn the required monthly points...we were told that an additional Rs 1,000 for Covid duties will be given to us but nothing has been provided yet," one ASHA worker added. Delhi ASHA Workers Association President Shweta Raj said that the deaths and infections among workers is the result of the years of neglect towards them with a blind eye being turned to their daily needs. "During such a health emergency, they are playing the most important role and exposing themselves to the virus, they should get medical facilities on priority," Raj said.