Covid patient father-son duo reaches Chandigarh polling station in PPE kits

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 24

Casting a vote brings a sense of empowerment. It is an opportunity to decide who will be the in-charge of your area. This was stated by a 21-year-old Covid patient, who, along with his father (also a Covid patient), turned up to cast his vote at a polling station in Sector 21.

The young Covid patient, who voted for the first time in the MC elections, said, “I did not want to lose the opportunity to cast my vote when the government facilitated us in exercising our right to franchise. We did so with pride as we donned PPE kits and were escorted with a health team in an ambulance.”

“There are a lot of issues in my area that needs to be addressed and I believed that every vote counted for choosing the right leader,” he said.

The father-son duo reached the polling station at 4:50 pm and polled at 6 pm. Initially, when they reached the venue, local voters started objecting to their presence as they feared contracting the infection. The duo was asked to wait until everyone left the polling station.

The 61-year-old Covid patient said, “It is our duty to vote and we were very particular about it. We never missed voting. The arrangements were satisfactory for patients and the escorting staff was very supportive.”

There are 97 active Covid patients in the city at the moment and all were contacted to cast their vote by the UT Health Department team. However, only two turned up for polling. This is the first election ever since the pandemic and also the first time when Covid patients had come to exercise their right to vote.