Mumbai traffic cop denied admission in 4 hospitals, tests positive for Covid-19

Police said Mumbai’s civic authorities are tracing the head constable’s close contacts to quarantine them. His family members have already been quarantined.

A 57-year-old Mumbai Police’s traffic head constable, who was denied admission by four Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run hospitals, despite showing tell-tale signs of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), has tested positive. The head constable is undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit (ICU) of King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Parel.

A ‘No Entry’ notice for Covid-19 patients outside Poddar hospital, Worli, Mumbai. A Mumbai traffic constable was reportedly denied admission in four BMC-run hospitals even when he showed symptoms of Covid-19. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

A senior Mumbai police officer told HT that the head constable, who is attached to the Kurla division of the traffic branch, had developed a fever earlier this week. His son rushed him to the BMC-run Rajawadi Hospital on Tuesday around 2pm, he added.

“My father complained of fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing earlier this week. On Tuesday, the doctors at Rajawadi Hospital checked his temperature, did a preliminary check-up, and recommended that he be isolated at home. But when I asked the authorities to admit him to the hospital’s isolation facility, they refused, as no bed was available, and instead asked me to take him to the BMC-run Kasturba Hospital of Infectious Diseases,” alleged the 25-year-old son of the head constable.

The son rushed his father to Kasturba Hospital on his motorcycle. “Doctors at the hospital checked his temperature and gave him oxygen. They, too, said that beds are not available and asked me to take him to the BMC-run Nair Hospital. Kasturba Hospital doctors didn’t even bother to take my father’s swab samples for testing,” he further alleged.

“The Nair Hospital management gave the same excuse that no bed was available and they don’t test patients for Covid-19. I took my father to KEM Hospital on their recommendation, but there, too, the doctors refused to admit him initially. Finally, he was admitted to the ICU after I spoke to some police officials,” the son said.

“My father has worked for the state police department for 28 years. If anything untoward happens to him, the callous doctors will be held responsible,” he warned.

The civic authorities are tracing the head constable’s close contacts to quarantine them. His family members have already been quarantined, the police said.