‘Am alive’, says MP Covid-19 patient in video after being declared dead by doctor

The Covid-19 patient, admitted to a private medical college in MP’s Ujjain, released a video clip saying he read in newspaper that he was declared dead whereas he was alive and healthy.

Madhya Pradesh’s health department admitted its lapse in declaring a Covid-19 patient dead and issued a show cause notice to the concerned doctor who committed the error, a department official said in Ujjain on Saturday .

The health department in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain issued a show cause notice to the doctor moments after a video clip, posted by the patient , was widely shared on social media. (Sanchit Khanna/HT File Photo used for representational purpose only)

The department swung into action and issued the notice to the doctor moments after a video clip, posted by the 30-year-old patient admitted to a private medical college in Ujjain, 190 kilometres west of state capital Bhopal, , was shared widely on social media.

The patient is heard saying in the video clip, “I was admitted to RD Gardi Hospital two days back. I read in a newspaper on Saturday that I have been declared dead whereas I am alive and healthy. Nothing has happened to me. Please share this video with others and improve the arrangements here.”

Chief medical and health officer (CMHO), Ujjain Dr Anusuiya Gawali Sinha said, “The name of the patient was entered in the record as dead in place of a 60-year-old Covid-19 patient from Ujjain who died on Thursday. The doctor who happens to be the nodal officer has admitted his lapse, saying that it happened due to confusion over names and addresses.”

“ I have issued a show cause notice to him and sought his explanation as to why action be not taken against him and his institution by the health department. Also, I have warned him that such an error should not be repeated in future.”

The total number of Covid-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh reached 2,096 on Sunday, according to Union health ministry data. Ninety nine people have died of the disease in the state, as per the ministry figures. Of these, 57 deaths have been reported from Indore alone– the worst affected district in the state- followed by 15 in Ujjain and nine in Bhopal.

So far, 210 patients have recovered from the disease in the state and returned home.

According to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, an institute set up by the state government in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh was the fifth among the states in the total number of persons affected as per the data available on Friday evening. The test positivity rate increased from 5.10% to 5.26% whereas recovery rate had fallen from 12.035 to 11.38%. The case fatality rate increased slightly from 4.92% to 4.98%.