Shocking! Kurla hospital changes 'cause of death' of COVID patient for bribe

New Noor Hospital in Mumbai's Kurla suburb that has been accused of handing over a coronavirus patient's body to family after changing the cause of death, allegedly for a bribe. 

After the patient died last week, the death certificate listed an "acute myocardial infraction" but there was no mention of COVID-19.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sent a notice to the hospital,"The BMC has come to know from credible information that on May 30, (the patient) was admitted with symptoms of COVID-19 in your hospital for necessary treatment. The patient was found confirmed COVID-19 infected, as per the report of Metropolis Healthcare Laboratory, and he later died on June 3, 2020 due to COVID-19 infection in your hospital (sic)," the civic body's notice to the hospital read.

Dr Asif Khan, the director, has blamed the patient's family members for the lapse, alleging they concealed the COVID-19 test report from the hospital.

"We got to know much later that he was COVID-19 positive. The family requested to let it go as there would be a lot of trouble for them, so we released the body to help them avoid trouble," he said.

Mumbai has reported more than 50,000 coronavirus cases - the highest number of cases and deaths for any city in the country.