Gujarat horror: 70 year old found dead on the sidewalk, was admitted in hospital for COVID

According to a Scroll.in report, Gunvant Makwana, who was found dead at a bus stop, was admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital’s COVID-19 isolation ward on May 10 because he had respiratory problems and showed other symptoms of COVID-19. His samples were taken for Coronavirus test and he tested positive later. His family members were forced to carry his body themselves without any protective gear, they said.

Kirti Makwana, a labourer at a textile mill, son of Gunvant Makwana said, “For three days I had no idea about my father’s condition, because no one is allowed to visit the isolation ward and the hospital had told me to go home.”

“The police had found my father’s body lying at Danilimda BRTS stop at 3 am the previous night, and they took it to SVP hospital. When my family reached there, the post-mortem was already done, but we have not yet received the report. They say he died of COVID, but we have no idea when or where,” Makwana said.

Kirti Makwana has claimed that the family was given no body bag or ambulance to take the body to a crematorium.

“We spent Rs 1,500 to buy a plastic sheet to cover the body, and the ward boy took another Rs 200 to spray disinfectant on it,” said Makwana. “We had to carry the body on our own to the cremation ground. When we asked for masks and gloves, the hospital said we had to buy it on our own, which we could not,” he said.

Dr MM Prabhakar, head of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, told Scroll.in that Gunvant Makwana did not die while he was admitted at the hospital, and had been discharged on May 14 while he was still alive.

Jignesh Mevani, independent legislator from Gujarat, condemned the Civil Hospital for this incident. “This is a case of typical negligence when it comes to dealing with the poor,” he said. He also called for the Chief Minister’s resignation.