Inside COVID-19 control rooms: THEY TAKE THOSE ‘TOUGH CALLS’

Volunteers at Greater Chennai Corporation’s COVID control rooms do not just answer questions, but show the callers the road to recovery; these facilities are operated round-the-clock through three shifts

From calming nerves to gathering information and offering guidance, a considerable amount of work is crammed into this room. G. Gladston Xavier from Greater Chennai Corporation’s COVID Control Room and Tele-Counselling Centre (044-46122300/ 044-2538 4520) explains that “afternoons are hectic”, but that is no excuse to go about this work mechanically. Around 40 people are at work in this room; every other caller is fraught with extreme anxiety, and so, as Gladston puts it, it is necessary to listen to the heartbeat behind the voice.