My week as a COVID-19 patient

As a photojournalist waiting to capture some of the most crucial happenings around me, nothing could have prepared me for a week as a COVID-19 patient. While the viral outbreak engulfed Maharashtra and Mumbai, in particular, I continued documenting these unprecedented times, but a phone call on April 20 changed my life forever.

The morning began like any other as I prepared to head out for an assignment. I received a call from a photographer friend, who informed me that an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had confirmed that he tested positive for COVID-19 and would soon be taken to a hospital in an ambulance.

We had all undergone swab tests after a few of our fellow photojournalists had tested positive.

Soon, I received the dreaded phone call from an unknown number and a man asked me curtly, "Where are you? I am calling from the BMC and want to inform you that your report is positive."
Kharvi told me once the lockdown was imposed, "my daughter asked me if I would be interested in working at the hospital, where she is employed. I immediately said yes. It is better to do something good for others than sit and whine about the situation."