Odisha man dies after ambulance driver refuses to take him to hospital over Covid-19 fears

The man who was also a diabetic and suffered from high blood pressure, died on the verandah of his house even as his family hailed an autorickshaw tto take him to hospital.

A 42-year-old man in Berhampur town in Odisha’s Covid hotspot district of Ganjam died at his home on Monday after an ambulance driver refused to take him to hospital suspecting that he was a coronavirus patient.

The ambulance driver suspected that the man was infected by coronavirus. (Sourced)

Manoj Praharaj’s family members had called 108 emergency response services for an ambulance to take him to hospital. However, as soon after the ambulance reached the home of Praharaj who was also a diabetic and suffered from high blood pressure, the driver refused to take him to hospital suspecting him to be suffering from Covid-19.

“I kept pleading with the ambulance driver to take my father to hospital as he was suffering from fever for the past couple of days. The ambulance driver instead asked us to call an ambulance (104) meant for coronavirus patients,” said Manas Praharaj, son of the deceased.

After the ambulance left, the family members of Praharaj arranged an auto-rickshaw to take him to the hospital. But he died on the veranda of the house.

Following the incident, Ganjam district collector Vijay Amrita Kulange said both 104 and 108 ambulances will henceforth carry all Covid suspects to hospitals.

In a similar incident, a 55-year-old man in Berhampur town died early this month when the driver of an ambulance refused to carry him to hospital suspecting him to be infected with Covid-19. On July 12, Shiva Prasad in Sriram Nagar area of Berhampur complained of uneasiness after which his family called for an ambulance.

While the ambulance refused to come to his house, none of the neighbours came to help either. He later died.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 cases in Odisha mounted to 26,892 with 1,503 new cases even as the sample positivity rate rose to 16.11, its highest so far. The number of deaths rose to 147 with seven more casualties.

In Bhubaneswar, 17 blind people including 15 from the Odisha Association for the Blind have tested positive for Covid. According to officials, the 15 blind people came in contact with the caretaker of a professor working in the blind association who earlier tested positive.