'COVID-19 patients treated as dead bodies': Brother of journalist Manoj who died due to the virus

Brother of a journalist who had died due to COVID-19 a few days back, has alleged that his [journalist] death was due to negligence of the hospital management.

Sainath, brother of deceased journalist D Manoj Kumar, in a self-recorded video stated, "On June 3, me and my brother Manoj, went to Fever Hospital, Nallakunta. On the same day, we gave our samples and later at night I received a call from Hospital Management stating we tested positive for COVID-19."

"They asked us to come to the hospital and from there we were admitted at Gandhi Hospital. Since the time we have stepped into that hospital, we were not attended by anyone. At around 1:30 AM, my brother Manoj experienced difficulty in breathing, he asked me to inform the hospital staff, when I went out in search of a doctor, no one was available," Sainath said.

He said, "The staff later said that the doctors will be available between 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM in the morning then he can be examined."

"My brother called me again and said that his condition is getting severe. As he is a journalist, he asked me to inform his colleagues and asked them to further inform the hospital superiors and also people from the Health Ministery. Then a doctor approached us and said that my brother will be shifted to ICU at around 12:00 AM in the night. But nobody approached him or shifted him to ICU till 4:00 AM, the staff said that there are no beds. He was on a wheelchair for an hour in ICU," he added.

He further said that Manoj was neglected by the hospital for around five to eight hours. As per Sainath, the journalist was declared dead and the former was informed through a police official.

The COVID-19 patients were being treated as dead bodies in the hospital, he added.

Manoj who tested positive for COVID-19 and was suffering from severe comorbidities died on Sunday. This was the first case of a journalist's death arising due to the virus in the state.

( With inputs from ANI )