Bihar: Man tests positive after committing suicide

PATNA: A 30-year-old migrant worker, who had hanged himself at a quarantine centre in Hajipur late on Wednesday evening, has tested positive for Covid19. He had returned from Noida on May 18.
“The test report of the migrant worker reached the district headquarters on Thursday morning. The sample was sent to NMCH, Patna, for test. He was in depression for being quarantined for the second time,” said Vaishali civil surgeon Dr Indradev Ranjan, adding, he was in quarantine at a government hostel for girls near Dighi at Hajipur. The deceased was reportedly quarantined in Delhi as well.
The deceased had reached his native village in Vaishali district from Noida on May 18 and was quarantined at Belsar Bazar from where he was shifted to Hajipur after he complained of cough and fever. At the quarantine centre in Hajipur, he also complained of chest pain.
The youth was kept in isolation at the quarantine centre after his condition deteriorated on Tuesday. But around 5.30 pm on Wednesday he committed suicide. However, the victim’s brother, Rakesh Kumar, claimed that his brother looked fine when he had visited the quarantine centre earlier in the day to being him home cooked food. “He behaved normal and didn’t complain about anything,” he added.
The SHO of Hajipur sadar police station Rohan Kumar said on Thursday that the body was disposed of under the supervision of a medical team as he was suspected to be infected by coronavirus. “The test report later confirmed he was being infected,” the SHO said, adding, altogether 22 migrant workers are staying at the Hajipur Ambedkar Balika Chhatrawas quarantine centre.
This is not an isolated case of a migrant worker committing suicide. Another migrant worker from Musahari block in Muzaffarpur had committed suicide on Tuesday after his family members refused him entry into the house and asked him to return only after completing the 14-day mandatory quarantine at a nearby centre.
Sources said at least half a dozen similar cases of suicide have been reported in the state ever since migrant workers started arriving from other states. Taking a note of this disconcerting trend, the State Health Society has decided to provide counselling facility at quarantine centres.
A senior officer of the state health department said 400 personnel, including psychiatrists, doctors, para-medical staff, family planning and Aids control programme counsellors and district mental health workers were being trained through video conferencing. “They will counsel quarantined inmates to ease their mental pressure at district to panchayat level quarantine centres,” he added.