This dancing nurse from US is helping Covid patients in Mumbai

In April last year, when New York was reeling under a surge of Covid-19 cases, a story of hope emerged from the neighbourhood of Harlem. San Diego-based nurse Ana Wilkinson, who was working at Covid wards across the city, shot a video of herself dancing for patients. The video soon went viral, becoming a message of optimism at a time when the city was struggling due to a lack of resources, including doctors and other medical personnel. Wilkinson became known as “the dancing nurse of Harlem” or simply, “the dancing nurse”, as she worked at hospitals across America, including three different trips to Texas (both New York and Texas were among places that reported a severe shortage of nursing staff). Television appearances followed, including a spot on Good Morning America.

And now, Wilkinson is in India, helping out at Covid wards in Mumbai. She has been helping out at the Tata Memorial Hospital since the first week of July. In 2010, Wilkinson and her husband, a firefighter, had spent their honeymoon in India as part of a medical mission, and she had been keen for a repeat trip ever since. She said, “I helped wherever I could be useful, either in the Covid ward, Casualty, or Pediatrics.