KAUKANA (NBC 26) — The delta variant, a new strain of COVID-19, has now spread across 49 states and health officials believe that it can possibly be more dangerous, especially for those who are not vaccinated.
While the delta variant has already spread vastly overseas, Northeast Wisconsin’s Indian community is sounding the alarm on the strain as many community members have already had several close family and friends directly impacted by it.
“I have personally lost some family members in COVID,” said Kapil Rajvanshi, Hindu Temple of Northeast Wisconsin Board Chairman.
Rajvanshi said those deaths he’s referring to are the ones coming from this second wave of COVID-19, the delta variant.
NBC 26 asked if those family members who died were vaccinated and this is what he said:
“My cousin-brother [a cousin considered like a brother] who was fully vaccinated actually got COVID and he passed away even after being fully vaccinated,” Rajvanshi said. “Other people, I had two uncles who passed away. They had their first shot, but not the second shot yet. Also in India sometimes you’re not getting the shot, sometimes it’s jut a long wait for that. Some people could not get vaccinated. But as I mentioned personally I’ve lost six people who are my distant relatives."
He goes on to share that just recently there was a family from here in the Fox Valley who traveled to India for a wedding. That woman caught the Delta variant overseas and didn’t survive.
“There’s a family who was visiting India, attending for a family wedding. The wife caught COVID. She was only 40 years old, she left two boys behind and she passed away. That is just so sad, she was just a very active volunteer for the temple. She was always here for every event and we nearly and dearly miss her,” Rajvanshi said.
With so many tragic deaths, he urges the public to not take the Delta variant lightly and encourages anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated to do so.
“My personal advice is don’t let your guards down, don’t ditch the mask yet. I am seeing that people have been just tired of wearing masks and they’ve been trying to get rid of it. So my suggestion to everybody is that this variant is coming to the U.S. as well. We have seen this in Europe, don’t let guard down,” Rajvanshi said.
He shares that across Northeast Wisconsin there are over 700 Indian families.
“All the way from Fond du Lac to Sheboygan to Appleton, Green Bay to Marinette,” Rajvanshi said.
The Hindu Temple of Northeast Wisconsin is the only place of worship in the area for Indian families. With so many of these families having someone in India personally affected by COVID, the temple decided to organize a relief fund to help families overseas.
“We have the board of directors who made the call that we should do this thing and I think again everyone was impacted in some how or another and we felt this is the right thing to do and right time to do it,” Rajvanshi said.
He explains what exactly they’re hoping to do with the money raised:
“We are teaming up with an organization that actually works on the ground in India. So that money that we are raising is going towards purchasing oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, PPE [personal protective equipment] kits for the people who are isolated in their homes, and also some of the money is going towards setting up some oxygen plants in India so that the supply is constantly available,” Rajvanshi said.
He goes on to say that some of the biggest areas where they’re seeing needing the most help are in rural communities.
“Because people don’t have access to medical facilities, people aren’t seeing any specialists or doctors. They’re just taking home remedies assuming it's just a fever or just a cough or cold. That’s where it hits much harder,” Rajvanshi said.
He said with so many people catching the delta variant in India, hospitals have become so overwhelmed.
“There is a huge supply shortage of beds and oxygen concentration cylinders. I know personally that my brother, my real brother who actually is, thank gosh, he’s safe. But he could not even get a hospital bed so they had converted a hotel next to the hospital into a make-shift hospital and doctors visited from the hospital into the hotel. So, everybody is doing whatever they can to support this big second wave but its everywhere,” Rajvanshi said.
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He said as of now their temple has raised about $21,000 and have even received donations from a few companies in the area.
“It’s definitely a big deal and I think India with the sheer amount of population that we have and the resources that we have, any help is good. Don’t hesitate,” Rajvanshi said. “Community support has been overwhelming. I’m actually so happy to see how everybody in the community has supported us.”
The organizations the Hindu temple is teaming up with are SEWA International and HELP India, which will be on the ground directly helping those in India with the fight.
As the Delta variant has now arrived in Wisconsin, he said there is some worry from the local Indian community just because they have seen how badly the devastation in their motherland has been.
“Yes, there is a worry because the delta variant has already come into the U.S. I think it’s not as prominent in Wisconsin as we speak,” Rajvanshi said. “I think everybody is worried but I think they also relieved that everyone is vaccinated.”
In the meantime, he said his family along with the other 700+ families in Northeast Wisconsin are remaining optimistic and hopeful. He said for many they just can’t wait for this pandemic to be fully over so they can be reunited with their loved ones in India again.
