Coronavirus Fears: Doctor Refused Treatment by 4 Hospitals Over COVID-19 Scare, Now on Ventilator
A doctor who was suffering from high fever was reportedly refused treatment by four hospitals because they suspected that he had contracted the coronavirus.
Mumbai, March 20: A doctor who was suffering from high fever was reportedly refused treatment by four hospitals because they suspected that he had contracted the coronavirus. The incident took place in Maharashtra's Jalgaon town. After several hours, the doctor was finally admitted at Jalgaon’s Government Medical College where he is now on a ventilator. He neither travelled to any foreign country, nor did he meet any person who tested positive for the coronavirus. Coronavirus Outbreak Live News Updates.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the doctor had returned from Kolhapur to his hometown Bhusawal last week. On Wednesday night he had high-grade fever and suffered breathlessness. His family took him to four private hospitals but all of them refused to treat him, the report said. Doctors asked the family to get a clearance that the patient does not suffer from coronavirus, the report added. Coronavirus Outbreak in India: COVID-19 Count Climbs to 195, PM Narendra Modi Calls For 'Janata Curfew' as Death Toll Rises to 4.
"Every hospital refused to admit him. They said what if he had coronavirus. We told them he had not travelled abroad but nobody listened. We spent the entire night running from one hospital to another," the patient's uncle was quoted as saying. The sick doctor was admitted to the Government Medical College around 7 am on Thursday. Doctors there asked the family to move him somewhere else as they did not have a critical care unit.
"That is when we approached the district collector. He ordered GMC to continue hospitalisation," social worker Pratibha Shinde said. Dr Bhaskar Khaire, dean of the hospital, said the doctor’s condition has deteriorated in the last few hours due to delay in treatment. He added that since the patient has no travel history, he doesn't need to go through a coronavirus test. The patient's blood samples have been sent to a lab. Reports were awaited.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2020 10:48 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).