Kadai: Shame and stigma have been concerns during covid crisis

Martin Kadai, head of the Emergency Medicine Department at the Health Board, has said a false sense of shame and stigma related to the spread of the coronavirus have been a concern throughout the crisis period. Stigmatization leads to people hiding their disease which makes controlling the disease harder.
From the very beginning of the coronavirus period the Health Board has been concerned about false shame and stigmatization, Kadai said.
He said, despite 6,000 tests being performed each week, but there are still signs that some people are afraid to test due to the reactions of other people.
"People can be afraid of this diagnosis, and it's the worst thing that can happen when a person starts to notice they have symptoms. About 80 percent of people can hide this disease because they don't directly need hospital treatment or care. They can handle the disease themselves, but they are afraid of the diagnosis and that they may be rejected by the community," Kadai said.
He said people must not judge others because: "If people start to hide this disease, we will not be able to control this disease."
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Editor: Helen Wright