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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Beds to cylinders, people lend a hand on social media -Surbhi Gupta

Beds to cylinders, people lend a hand on social media -Surbhi Gupta

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published Published on Apr 25, 2021   modified Modified on Apr 25, 2021

-The Indian Express

Many groups, previously engaged with blood donation, have also stepped up to the task. From fulfilling plasma needs, these volunteers are now working on getting ventilators, oxygen cylinders, hospitals beds and medicines.

For over a week, citizen volunteers across the country, from students to social media influencers, have been responding to SOS requests on Twitter from Covid patients seeking oxygen, ventilators, hospital beds, plasma and medicines.

The website has become a destination for family members and friends raising requests for their loved ones — or just receiving reassurances that all will be well. “Last year, when people would call me, they just needed someone to talk to. However, since the last 10 days, things have just blown up. Earlier, what were one or two messages, are now SOS calls coming from everywhere, I am unable to even keep a count,” said Sweta Dash, a Delhi-based public health researcher, who is part of Medical Support Group, a citizen group assisting critical and pregnant Covid-19 patients. “Twitter, WhatsApp, phone calls, all are full of requests.”

Dash asks those reaching out to fill up a basic form that is sent to a WhatsApp group of volunteers, who divide the cases among themselves and directly deal with families. “There is a separate group which coordinates with hospitals and suppliers to verify the number of beds available,” she said.

There is an information overload on Twitter at the moment, pointed out Dash. “It’s a lot of useless information as most of the leads are a week old or suppliers are out of stock,” she said.

“There is so much information, but so little information that holds value,” said Anchal Aggarwal, who has created a group of volunteers who verify leads, which she then communicates to family members on a one-to-one basis. “A lot of people are messaging us just for fun or hoarding, so gatekeeping is necessary,” said Aggarwal, who has a following of over 1.7 lakh on Instagram. She started amplifying requests last week and is involved full-time now.

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The Indian Express, 25 April, 2021, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/beds-to-cylinders-people-lend-a-hand-on-social-media-7287729/


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