BENGALURU:
After the second Covid-19 death reported from Kalaburagi, the district administration has decided to file a criminal negligence case against the private hospital which treated the patient, despite standing orders from the state government to refer such patients directly to the district hospitals.
In a report to health and family welfare commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Kalaburagi deputy commissioner Sharath gave details of the deceased, who is listed as patient 177 and was suffering from severe acute respiratory illness (SARI).
The 65-year-old resident of Santhrashwadi was a fruit vendor stationed opposite the city bus stand of Kalaburagi. He was admitted to Bahamani Hospital, a private nursing home, on April 4 at 5:30 pm with complaints of cough and fever.
Reportedly, on April 6 at 4:30 pm the patient was referred to the ESIC hospital as a suspected Covid-19 case. The patient was immediately admitted in the isolation ward and his swab sample was collected. Later at 6:30 pm, as his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to the ICU and put on a ventilator. But in spite of all efforts, the patient died on April 7 at 7:30 am.
Even as the district administration awaited the results of the Covid-19 test, the body was placed in the ESIC mortuary. The positive test result was received on April 7 at 10 pm. Subsequently, the body was disinfected and handed over to the relatives on the morning of April 8. The funeral was carried out as per the standard operating procedure under the supervision of the district health team, the report said.
According to the deputy commissioner, the private hospital where the patient was admitted and treated was immediately locked. The medical team of the hospital has been quarantined. “A notice has been served on the hospital for their criminal negligence and it will be followed up with a police case,”Sharath added.
20 primary contacts traced
Meanwhile, the district administration has traced 20 primary contacts of the deceased and all of them have been shifted to a quarantine centre. Sampling procedures for the primary contacts are underway. The deceased’s secondary contacts are also being identified.
The report also said that a team of police and doctors is analysing the call data records of the deceased to identify the source of infection.
