In a heart-wrenching incident reported from Kerala, a man who had returned from Qatar to visit his ailing father missed the opportunity to bid him goodbye one last time after he was isolated over suspected coronavirus infection.

The man, identified as Lino Abel, had returned to India from Qatar on March 8 after he was informed by his brother that their father had fallen off the bed and was seriously injured. Lino narrated the incident on his Facebook page via a post that read, On March 7, I saw a message from my brother asking me to contact them immediately. When I called him, I came to know that my father fell from the bed while sleeping. As the injury was serious in nature he was shifted to Alappuzha medical college. Later, when I called them, I was told that he had internal bleeding. On informing my office, they booked me on a flight to Kerala. Since I was noticing the coronavirus news in Kerala, I was a little concerned about whether I would make it home, but I left for Kochi on that night itself.

Lino was allowed to proceed to his hometown as he did not show any symptoms of the virus infection upon being screened at the airports. However, he reportedly did not have any direct contact with his relatives or his father, who was in a critical condition. As I walked out of the hospital, I started coughing and felt itching in my throat. Initially, though I didn't take it seriously, however, considering the safety of the rest I consulted with the doctors in coronavirus cells in the Kottayam medical college. The doctors there told me that Covid-19 was rapidly spreading in many parts of Qatar and I was immediately shifted to the isolation ward, Lino further added.

At 10.30 pm on March 9, Lino's father breathed his last after suffering a stroke and when the boy was informed of it, all he could do was cry as he was not allowed to meet his father despite being in the same hospital due to isolation protocols. He was unable to attend the funeral either and only watched the body being brought in an ambulance from his isolation ward window.

Lino said, When his body was brought home, I saw my dad, one last time, through a video call. Had I not volunteered at the coronavirus cell, I would have managed to see my father. However, I missed that opportunity because I was determined that I shouldn't spread this virus to my family and people in my region.

Lino urges symptomatic people to report themselves to the nearest medical office, in an attempt to contain the spread. If you keep aside a few days for this, you can live happily with your family afterward. Isolation ward is not a concentration camp, he wrote.

He ended his note mentioning that despite expecting a negative result for the virus, he might be sadder if it indeed turned out negative.