Mumbai: A 55-year-old Keralite man died after he was allegedly denied treatment by five hospitals in Mumbai, suspecting it to be a case of COVID-19.
K S Khalid Bambrana, a native of Manjeswaram, was a resident of Dongri in South Mumbai.
Khalid, a businessman, was taken to the Prince Aly Khan Hospital in Mazagon on Friday evening after he complained of fever and breathlessness. However, the hospital said there were no vacant beds. Khalid was then rushed to the Harkishandas Hospital at Girgaon, where they were given the same excuse.
When his relatives telephoned the nearby Saifee Hospital, the staff said there was no space to admit him. The Bombay Hospital too did not pay any heed.
Lilavati Hospital too said there were no vacant beds when the staff were informed that Khalid had fever and breathlessness, his friend C H Abdul Rahman said. Rahman is also the president of the Bombay Kerala Muslim Jamaath.
Khalid's heath condition deteriorated by the time he was taken to the St George Hospital.
The body has been kept at the mortuary of the St George Hospital. Further steps will be taken only after COVID-19 test results are available. Khalid was also a Bombay Kerala Muslim Jamaath managing committee member.
Last week, a woman from Alappuzha had died in Navi Mumbai after she was allegedly denied treatment.
