A 28-year-old pourakarmika in Bengaluru who tested positive for the coronavirus died on Thursday reportedly after struggling to get treatment.
Shilpa, who works in ward 22 Vishwanath Nagenahalli, was unwell for the past four days and was admitted to the Ambedkar Medical College on Wednesday after she tested positive for coronavirus. She was a resident of Benson Town.
As per Times of India, she was allegedly refused treatment in as many as seven hospitals. Her husband Prasad told the newspaper that he reached out to seven hospitals when her COVID-19 test result returned positive on Wednesday, but she was told that there were no vacant beds or ventilators.
After an argument with the hospital staff, she was admitted at the BR Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital where she was asked to wait till a senior doctor arrived so that a decision can be taken over shifting her to a private hospital with a ventilator. According to Prasad, she was not given ventilator support in time and that led to her death on Thursday morning.
BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said that health department officials are looking into the issue and will ensure that precautionary measures are taken for the safety of workers. He also said that the family's claims of denial of beds and lack of ventilators available in hospitals will also be addressed, The Hindu reported.
The incident comes one week after pourakarmikas in the city held a protest on July 10 calling for safety and precautions to be taken to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was staged in locations across the city where workers register their attendance every day. It was held after 23 pourakarmikas tested positive in a randomised testing done by the BBMP.
Bengaluru reported 2,344 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the single-highest number of cases recorded in a day in the city. The number of active cases in the city rose to 18,828.