Two doctors, Covid-19 patient in Silvassa booked for not revealing illness

TNN | Apr 8, 2020, 04:00 IST

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Surat: Two doctors in the union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli (DNH) were booked for allegedly concealing the illness of a 50-year-old man from Silvassa who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Mumbai.
The Silvassa police have also booked the Covid-19 patient along with the doctors.
The doctors, one working with a private hospital and another lady doctor at government-run Vinoba Bhave Civil Hospital (VBCH) in Silvassa, had not bothered to alert the local health authorities about the flu-like symptoms of Vijaysinh Rathod, 50, who runs a hotel in Silvassa’s Naroli village.
Rathod had gone to Mumbai and returned home on March 15. After few days, Rathod consulted Dr Hemant Shah, a physician at Vardhman hospital, as he was suffering from high fever and severe cold. Without informing the administration and the health authorities about his patient’s health condition, the doctor continued to give treatment to Rathod.
Later, Dr Shah referred Rathod to VBCH where Dr Krishna Parmar, who checked on him, did not alert the health authorities about his condition and referred him to a private hospital in Mumbai where he tested positive on April 6.
In a complaint lodged by the additional medical superintendent of VBCH, Dr Sanjay Verma, it is stated that the private physician and the doctor at the civil hospital concealed the illness of the patient despite he having flu-like symptoms and difficulty in breathing.
Silvassa police station inspector Manoj Patel said investigation has revealed that Dr Parmar of is the distant relative of the COVID-19 patient.
The Silvassa police has registered a case under section 269 (unlawfully or negligently doing something which is likely to spread infection), section 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the under section 51(B) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Patel said, “We are yet to arrest the doctors as they are under home quarantine for 14 days for treating the Covid-19 positive patient.
DNH health teams have started the door-to-door survey of the residents in Naroli village and that about 30 close contacts of the patient including the doctor and staff of Vardhman Hospital and the family members have been home quarantined.
A senior health officer of DNH said, “Had the doctors informed the health authorities, we could have acted immediately. This is grave negligence on the part of the doctors and the patient who did not alert the authorities. The patient is suffering from breathing problem and severe flu and he is recuperating at the private hospital in Mumbai.”