Corona Confusion: "Hospital Calls to Inform that my Father-in-law was doing Fine after he was Dead and Cremated…" – Report!

The family of an elderly, who was admitted in the hospital for suspected COVID-19, was confused after multiple calls from the hospital claimed the dead man to be alive and stable.

Devrambhai Mahangurao from Gujarat was admitted in the hospital for suspected COVID-19, on March 28. However, before the test result arrived, he was declared dead on March 29. The family had acquired the boy which was completely wrapped from head to toe. The family also received the deceased’s dress and other belongings.

After the family conducted the funeral and cremated the Mahangurao, the hospital had called to inform that he was Coronavirus Free and that he will be shifted to the normal ward.

“On May 29, afternoon, we received a call from GCRI that he was dead and we reached the hospital immediately. When I reached there along with my elder sister-in-law, we were shown a body that was packed as per Covid protocol as he was a suspected case and his report was pending. We did not see his face. The bag of clothes and other things I handed over to him at the time of admission was also with him, so I believed that he was my father-in-law,” said Nilesh Nikte (40), Devrambhai’s son-in-law. After cremation, at night, around 1:30 am the family received a call.

“My wife did not answer the call as it was an unknown number and it was too late. We again received a call from the call centre on May 30 morning, informing us that my father-in-law’s Covid test report was negative and that he was shifted to the non-Covid ward,” he added.

After the family heard this, they rushed to the hospital. “We were taken to the director who told us that it was indeed my father-in-law who died and some error had happened at the call centre. We returned home… But after we reached home, we again received a call around 2.30 pm from the call centre that my father-in-law’s condition was stable,” Nikte said.

Confused further, the family approached the hospital director. There they were informed that Devrambhai had died, but the result came in late and the person working at the call centre was not aware of the patient’s death. Hence, the patient did not die of Covid-19. “There is no irresponsibility or carelessness in this whole thing except that the employee on duty in the control room informed the result of the Covid-19 report… without knowing the last health status,” the hospital said.