Three suspected COVID-19 patients die while undergoing treatment in capital hospitals

Kathmandu, March 30

Three suspected coronavirus patients, who were undergoing treatment in Bir Hospital and Patan Hospital, died today.

Although the two hospitals declined to list the three deaths as COVID-19 deaths, they have sent throat swabs of the three deceased to National Public Health Laboratory, but the lab results have not come back to the hospitals yet.

One of the deceased was an Indian Gurkha residing in Dhading who had returned from India on February 26. He was suffering from kidney ailment and went to Dhading Hospital yesterday with fever. He was referred to Patan Hospital, where he was admitted to the ICU at 4:00pm yesterday.

Director of Patan Hospital Bishnu Prasad Sharma said the man died of multiple organ failure, but the hospital had not treated him as a COVID-19 patient. “Many media outlets wrongly reported that the man died while undergoing treatment in the COVID-19 isolation ward. He was admitted to an ICU, not in COVID-19 isolation ward,” he added.

Director of Bir Hospital Kedar Century said the two patients — a man and a woman — who died while undergoing treatment in the emergency ward of the hospital had fever when they were admitted, but the hospital did not list them as suspected COVID-19 patients. The 50-year-old man was admitted to the hospital at around 11:00am today in critical condition and died within minutes.

Century said the man, who was staying in Kalimati, was from Rautahat district and had returned from India two weeks ago. He was suffering from breathing difficulties and had fever when he was admitted to the hospital.

Another suspected COVID-19 patient was a 37-year old woman from Chandragiri Municipality who was suffering from diabetes, hypertension, urinary tract infection and had fever when she was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. Century said she could have succumbed to septicaemia.

Bir Hospital has sent their throat swabs to NPHL.

Meanwhile, the result of the swab taken from a man who died in the corona isolation hospital in Butwal yesterday tested negative today, according to Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Bikas Devkota.

Later, Khem Bahadur Karki, health adviser to the minister of health and population, told mediapersons that there was unnecessary fear about those who had returned from foreign countries and people were wrongly linking all deaths to COVID-19. As of today, there is no case of community transmission of COVID-19 in Nepal, he added.

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