Photojournalist SL Shanth Kumar was granted exclusive access to Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai, which is currently treating affected patients.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Hospitals in Mumbai are beginning to get overwhelmed with the lack of space and staff.

Shanth Kumar worked in the quiet, in the stunningly clean corridors with the silence broken only by beeping machines and whispers of the medical workers who were communicating with each other.

In this shooting SL Shanth Kumar highlights the effort of the medical profession to fight against the virus and keep patients and their families comfortable. He says no matter what your qualifications, designation or role, once in a PPE suit, everyone works as a team to defeat the virus.  

Health workers walk inside the lanes of Dharavi slums to check up the temperatures of the residents in Mumbai.

With the rising incidents of doctors contracting and succumbing to coronavirus, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has issued a red alert for the doctors and medical administrators, asking them to adopt the highest standard of infection control protocols.

As per a report published in Medical Dialogues the IMA officials have said that they aimed to ensure the safety and security of the doctors and their family members from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the IMA National COVID Registry Data, of the total 1,302 doctors who have been infected, 99 of them have lost their lives fighting against COVID, with 75 percent of them being above the age of 50 years.

“These pictures give an insider’s view to a well-kept facility of corporate care. SL Shanth Kumar has captured the human emotions very well, which portray the real face of the crisis in human terms. Even in normal times Hospitals have a very sterile feel to them & medical staff develop very stoic expressions but his lens has managed to get through that crack & click, the chink in the armor.
These are amazing pictures, which document the pandemic” – Anahita Mody

Text Edited with the help of Sailesh Andrade