Denied admission by hospitals, Mettuguda BJP div president dies of COVID

Hyderabad: Hours after his test reports came back COVID positive, Mettuguda BJP division president Bhasker Mudiraj succumbed to infection at Fever hospital in Hyderabad on Monday.

He was taken to many hospitals before the demise, but none admitted him as his test reports were awaited.

"Since Sunday morning he was feverish. His COVID test was done at Fever hospital. However, since there was no bed available, the family took him to Gandhi hospital. He was not admitted because his result was awaited. Later, the family tried taking him to several super-specialty hospitals including Apollo and Yashoda. Everywhere he was denied admission. Finally, the family managed to get him admitted to Fever hospital," BJP Hyderabad city President Ramachandra Rao told NewsMeter.

Bhasker Mudiraj's test reports were out by Monday evening. By then it was too late. A few hours later he took his last breath.

His party colleagues said contact tracing of Bhasker Mudiraj would be a tedious task as he was quite active during the last many days.

The 60-year-old politician is survived by his wife and two children. He was elected BJP division president almost 15 days back.

"I don't think contact tracing is possible in Hyderabad. GHMC has already stopped contact tracing. Almost 15 days back, Bhasker Mudiraj visited me. We don't know how many people he visited," Rao added.

Telangana health minister Eatala Rajender said there is no shortage of beds or oxygen in the hospitals. He said they would look into the severity of the Coronavirus pandemic in Hyderabad and reimpose lockdown if necessary.

“Chest Hospital at Erragadda is fully equipped. An additional 10,000 beds will be arranged at Gandhi Hospital. New swab collection centers will also be set up. Around 3,500 beds have already been equipped with oxygen supply,” he said.

Rajender said Gandhi Hospital has been exclusively catering to the needs of Covid-19 positive patients. “The OP section is not functioning now. At present, there are around 2,000 beds in Gandhi Hospital. Compared to any other state, Telangana has the least fatality rate of 1.1 percent,” he said.

Over 200 patients are undergoing treatment in Victoria Hospital.

Rajender said that government hospitals have been doing tests to their capacity. “There is no shortage of beds or oxygen in the government hospitals,” he said.

Meanwhile, eight staff members of the Telangana High Court have tested positive for COVID-19.