(Image source from: bhchp.org)

Monica Bharel who is an Indian American Physician was appointed as the commissioner of Massachusetts Public Health department in 2015 by the governor. In the midst of her fight with Covid-19 in commonwealth and protecting the residents of the country she and her family were diagnosed with Covid-19. Her husband, 2 kids and she are all recovered now.

Dr. Monica Bharel who is the commissioner of the Public Health Department in Massachusetts she serves as the Commonwealth’s chief physician. She is helping front hand in fighting the Covid-19 crisis in the state and is focused on data-driven and evidence driven data to help keep the public health. Her passionate dedication towards the vulnerable population was recognized by the governor and thus she was selected as the Public Health Commissioner. Prior to being the Commissioner of Public health she was the chief Medical officer of the Boston Healthcare for the homeless which is the largest non-profit healthcare organization for the homeless in the country.

Massachusetts has a record of over 105 thousand coronavirus cases in the state with nearly 7,664 deaths. Monica Bharel and her family also tested positive for Covid-19 and while sharing her recovery story commissioner pointed out the ways in which Massachusetts is helping its people to recover from the deadly virus.

In the interview, Monica shared that she tested positive first and self-isolated herself and later her husband who is also a doctor tested positive along with their 2 children. She also added that all of them have recovered now and none of them were hospitalized and were in self-quarantine for a few weeks. The experience of facing this virus first hand had given the commissioner a new insight and perspective as a physician.

She described her experience with the symptoms as surreal as she had to go through them all, from common cold to the losing senses of taste. Dr. Monica Bharel went on to say that Virus has made them exhausting. She was certainly sick for a few weeks but that surely did not come in the way of her helping the people of the state in this public health crisis.

By Deepika Agarwal