COVID-19 tales: 'People cursed me, said I deserved to die,' says Kanika Kapoor

Kanika Kapoor, who was the first Bollywood celebrity to test positive, recalls the tough times

First Bollywood Celebrity To Test Positive

Kanika Kapoor, 42, Mumbai
Singer

I Landed in Mumbai from London on March 9, 2020. There were no checks for COVID-19 or any quarantine rules at the airport. I think the authorities started the procedures post March 11. I went home, and I was fine. It was Holi on March 10, when I met a bunch of friends at SoHo House in Juhu. It was a normal day. On March 11, I flew to Lucknow to see my parents and grandparents. We live in a joint family.

I was feeling healthy when I landed in Lucknow, and once again had to undergo no checks. The next day, I visited my maternal grandmother, and the following day, I had to attend the birthday party of a childhood friend, Adil Ahmad. Here, some family friends, the UP health minister and a few cabinet ministers were present. They are all family friends. It was a sort of get-together in an open garden. I didn’t throw that party, I was one of the many guests there.

On March 16, I experienced a mild fever and sore throat. This was followed by bodyache. I lost my sense of smell and taste. This is the first time I suspected I could have contracted COVID-19. I hugged my parents as I had freaked out a little bit. I am still a little child for them.

I called my family friend in Medanta and said I wanted to get tested. He said only government hospitals were doing the tests. He gave me the number of a medical officer, who chatted with me about my condition but never got back about the test. On March 20, I tested positive and announced it on social media. But the medical officer went and made up his own story that I had landed on March 17 and didn’t go through the quarantine procedure. They didn’t check with me about my travel history.  I don’t know why he made up that story. 

I got admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) hospital. There, I was harassed to no end. There are four FIRs filed against me by the UP police under IPC sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant). I don’t know what for. I had given them all my documents. They knew of my whereabouts. I didn’t hide. I was the one who made the calls, I didn’t flout any rules. I had no symptoms and I was just with my family. There were 300 people who were tested after I made the announcement, and not one person from that lot had the infection, not even my family members.

My kids in London received death threats, people said my career was finished. It was traumatic. For two months, I was in shock. We had people gathering outside our home. News vans were stationed for almost three weeks. My parents were harassed, too. While I tested positive five times in a row, and remained in the hospital for 16 days, it was not physical exhaustion that took a toll on me, as much as the mental harassment. My social media accounts were flooded with vicious messages that said I deserved to die. I couldn’t see my kids in London for four months because of the lockdown. I was asking myself, why did I even get tested?

I think the world needs to be a little compassionate. Perhaps I shouldn’t have gone to a get together at a time when there was news about the pandemic having arrived in India, but honestly, at that time no one knew or understood how serious the situation was. 

I wish to put the past behind me. Everything is amazing right now. I worked from home during the lockdown. I am a very resilient person, so I bounced back eventually. I am doing music shows once again. 

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