It was the peak of India’s second wave of Covid-19 when the daily count of cases increased significantly. Oxygen demand was increasing more than ever. Remdesivir injection was being sold five times more than the price. The sudden spike in cases brought the nation’s healthcare system to its knees. There were no hospital beds, no oxygen, no medicines. There was no availability of ICU beds in hospitals across the city and nation. Apart from the medical bolt, it was the time for the worst financial shocks where people lost jobs & income and some lost the earning members of their family. The situation was terribly grim as people were struggling with basic necessities like food, medicines, blood, beds, and most importantly the support from the people.
The pandemic has been a nightmare for us all, but in these times of despair, there was a ray of hope in the city, as we Jaipurites stood by each other more than ever. Jaipur Beat wants to recognize a team of COVID SUPPORT that went beyond the call of duty for our city: Jaipur Covid Support.
Initially started by a few like-minded people as a WhatsApp group, Jaipur Covid Support established a communication system among those who were in need and those who can help. Jaipur Covid Support grew gradually with more experienced members who offered selfless services. The Jaipur Covid Support is a team of philanthropists, NGO members, volunteers & experts from diverse fields. From providing medical assistance to protecting livelihoods, giving authentic information to delivering resources, the group stepped up to help the people in the city literally door to door.
“Government circulars and region-specific orders are circulated there. The supply of drugs and medicine is being regulated through this group. The members answered all queries about drugs and asked the nearest pharmacist to ensure door delivery of tablets or injections,” said the member of a group.
How This Group Worked
- Connected people for help through networking and sharing experiences
- Helped with precise information about oxygen, hospital beds, Remdesivir and other medicines, plasma & blood
- Shared real time data on availability of beds and oxygen in hospitals
- Offered online health advice from doctors for minor and mild COVID-19 symptoms for free
- Collected unused medicine from people who have recovered
- Arranged oxygen cylinders for people who could not arrange/afford
- Provided food for free to those in need
The team of Jaipur Covid Support is no less than Covid warriors. We want to express our deep gratitude to each and every member of this group, as we highlight some of them.
The team included Dr. Dheeraj Gupta, a multi-talented Dentist, who gave the idea of online medical help. This helped people who needed first-hand advice at odd hours and those who were not able to move out. Dr. DD Gupta, a Senior Physician at Apollo Spectra Hospital also helped with online consultancy. Another member helped in guiding with Plasma & donation and also helped in formulating precise SOPs for Oxygen, Plasma, and other medicines. There are some notable names that assisted in all the aspects of this mission: Abhishek Tripathi, a Business Owner, Manish Chandwani, a Business Owner, Neelam Verma, a Homemaker, Seema Malhotra, an HR Consultant, Sunil Jain, an Architect. Apart from this, there were numerous faces who worked tirelessly and selflessly.
Such people restore our faith in humanity. If you know about similar Covid warriors in the city, share information with us at Jaipur Beat. Let’s spread positivity with more inspiring stories.
Salute to the Covid Heroes
Thank You Jaipur Covid Support group to help tackle COVID-19!
In this hour of emergency during the pandemic, when government helplines didn’t work & all the resourceful contacts failed, social media came to the rescue as a last resort in helping to save lives. We have experienced all of this through Jaipur Beat in the last few weeks.
Since the break of the pandemic, many people were asking for help through Social Media as Covid cases continued to rise. We at Jaipur Beat were getting hundreds of messages from our followers for their families and friends in distress to help them by spreading the word for the urgent need for medicines, plasma, oxygen beds, hospital statuses, food delivery for Covid families and much more. Initially, we were clueless but we have experienced the plights of the families and it was heartbreaking to see the helplessness of the fellow citizens. We took the call and decided to use the platform for the community’s help along with the team. We were not feeling comfortable sharing regular posts glorifying Jaipur, whether it was food images or paid promotions, or any such thing on Jaipur Beat. How can we show happiness when we see so much suffering around us?
We started using the platform for SOS messages and in this, we collaborated with many resource providers/persons and started sharing valuable and urgent information. Some brands also joined us in sharing the collected information to reach more and more people. The continuous exchange of information was going on between various platforms including Whatsapp, Twitter, and Instagram. That is when we joined the Jaipur Covid Support Group on Whatsapp and monitored its functioning and without any doubt, this group needs a special mention for dealing with the crises without any personal gain.
There were many nights when the requirements kept pouring in the late-night hours too and sometimes even on calls. The urgent help given saved few lives and that small ‘thanks’ notes just kept us going. Today it fills us with immense satisfaction that as a responsible Jaipur page for a decade, Jaipur Beat, in these challenging times, actively worked to help the community fight Covid-19.
Co-Founder, Anisha Hajela
Jaipur Beat 