A 58-year-old sanitation supervisor, Heera Lal, at Delhi’s AIIMS succumbed to COVID-19 on April 25. He had tested positive for the contagious virus four days ago.
‘Another corona warrior sacrifices his life in service of the country. AIIMS has lost its proud warrior. The virus is dangerous very communicable & doesn’t spare anyone,’ the General Secretary of AIIMS’ Resident Doctors’ Association wrote on Twitter.
According to News Agency PTI, On May 16, the supervisor got a check-up at the hospital after complaining of fever and mild respiratory discomfort. However, he was allegedly not tested for the virus, Kuldeep Dhigan, general secretary of the hospital’s SC/ST employees’ welfare association, informed.
‘The sanitation supervisor’s case did not fulfil the criteria for testing. He had only undergone routine blood tests and was sent home after he was briefed about the precautions he needed to take,’ NDTV quoted Dhigan as saying.
On May 19, he was admitted to the Emergency Wing and subsequently tested for coronavirus after his condition worsened and he developed breathing difficulties.
He was shifted to the Trauma Centre after his reports came back positive. The Trauma Centre has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 facility, Mr Dhigan told PTI.
Earlier the Director of the Pulmonology Department of AIIMS, Dr Jitendra Nath Pande, died of COVID-19 on May 23.
Dr Pande’s death was reported a day after a mess worker at AIIMS died of COVID-19, this led to allegations from the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) that precautionary measures, which it demanded weeks back, had not been taken.
‘A mess worker from RPC canteen died of COVID-19 because the hostel section refused to take precautionary measures as demanded by RDA more than a month ago,’ the RDA said in a letter to the AIIMS Director on May 22.
