Twice Covid negative, groom dies a day before wedding in Karnataka

SHIVAMOGGA/CHIKKAMAGALURU: After testing negative twice in 10 days, a 32-year-old man from Chikkamagaluru died at a designated Covid hospital in Shivamogga on Wednesday evening, a day before his marriage. Tests conducted after his death confirmed he had Covid, a family member said.
He was cremated as per Covid guidelines in his village on Thursday, barely hundreds of metres from a choultry that was to host his marriage.
Prutviraj DM, from Devarakodige in Koppa taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, returned home from Bengaluru two weeks ago after the government decided to impose night curfew in eight big cities to stem the rising tide of Covid cases.
The bridegroom used to work as a sales executive in Bengaluru. He is the eldest son of Manjunath, a farmer from Devarakodige. Early this year, his marriage was fixed for April 29. Though his health condition wasn’t good as he suffered from stomach ailment and breathlessness after his return from Bengaluru, families of the groom and the bride decided to go ahead with the wedding plan as he tested negative for Covid-19 twice.
According to Manjunath, the groom complained of stomachache after he returned from Bengaluru.
Groom twice tested -ve for Covid
After Prutviraj was treated at a local hospital, he became fit and plunged into marriage preparations. Within 48 hours, he complained of breathlessness. His family rushed him to a private hospital in Koppa and shifted him to Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district on Monday for better care.
In both hospitals, he was swabbed for Covid and the results turned negative. However, his condition continued to turn for the worse by the day, and the family shifted him to Shivamogga’s McGann Hospital, the designated Covid hospital. Factoring in his recent medical history, the hospital admitted him to the Covid ward. He was on ventilator before breathing his last on Wednesday. Medical superintendent Dr Sridhar said Prutviraj was brought to the hospital at a critical stage. “He responded to treatment initially, but we could not save him,” he said.
Manjunath said the system failed him as the authorities confirmed only after his death that he was Covid positive. “They sent the Covid report to a family member’s mobile after his death,” he said.