Mumbai returnee, 35, faints on road & lay unattended for two hours in UP’s Pilibhit

PILIBHIT: A migrant worker, who had only recently returned from Mumbai to be with his family in

Pilibhit

, had a narrow escape when he fainted on a busy road on Tuesday afternoon and lay there in the scorching sun for over two hours without anyone daring to attend to him thinking he was a Covid-19 patient.

After two months of lockdown, Santram, 35, had quit Mumbai and returned to Pilibhit on the first chance he got. He was tested by the health department for

novel coronavirus infection

on his return on May 22. He was clear. He also underwent home quarantine for over two weeks.

On Tuesday afternoon, suffering from a bout of restlessness, Santram ventured out of his home in Pilibhit’s Bisalpur town to get medicines. But, after a few minutes of walk, he stumbled and fell near an empty plot by the road.

Passersby gathered and one of them called ‘108’

ambulance

. The vehicle came but the medical staff didn’t come with the PPE. They left and returned after over an hour and took Santram to the district hospital.

A local of Bisalpur city, Roop Lal, said that Santram was semi-unconscious and was begging for help, quietly. “But no one responded due to the Covid-19 scare,” Lal said.

When contacted, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Bisalpur, Chandra Bhan Singh, said, “The staff of the government ambulance should have been equipped with all the protective measures to deal with novel coronavirus. They had the life of the patient in danger.”

Additional chief medical officer CM Chaturvedi said that Santram was given proper treatment, and he was out of danger now.

“Santram was suffering from acute dehydration. He was given ample fluid and medicines and sent back home,” Chaturvedi said.