Delhi: After long wait for a bed, last rites also a challenge

NEW DELHI: After a caretaker at a shelter home for the mentally challenged succumbed to Covid-19, 20 others have tested positive for the novel coronavirus after the first detection on June 2. The family of Jaishankar had a traumatic time after his death and his wife, Lalita, told TOI that she had to pay Rs 8,000 for the cremation at a time when she had just Rs 1,500.Staff employees at Asha Kiran in Rohini are now fearful of infection, though not all of them have undergone tests.
The ordeal for Lalita began in last week of May when her husband developed fever. “I visited Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital and doctors prescribed medicines for five days. I went back to the hospital on June 3, by which time the hospital was been made a Covid facility,” recalled Lalita. “My husband felt fine, but later got an upset stomach. On June 5, which was also our 18th wedding anniversary, I rushed him to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where they carried out some investigation but referred him to AIIMS since there were no beds here. The same night I was told he had tested positive for Covid. For five days, he was in the hospital and on June 10 he passed away.”
When Lalita went to claim her husband’s body on June 11, she was told the paperwork wasn’t complete. The next day, she was asked to reach the crematorium in Uttam Nagar. “There, the people said I would have to pay Rs 8,000. I had only Rs 1,500 with me, but luckily some crematorium staffers contributed and we carried out the cremation,” she said. “My 10-year old son then tested positive and he is in home isolation, while my daughter and I stay in another room.”
Lalita who works as a cook at the shelter home said she absented herself during the period, but her work-conscious husband never said no if he was asked to report for work. “I wish the government would provide safety equipment like PPE kits and gloves to people are working in a suspect environment,” she said.
Sources said that the first Covid case at the shelter was reported on June 2 after a housekeeping staff tested positive. Soon after, a doctor, peon and Jaishankar were also infected. Testing was carried out among some staffers, and a 19-year old male inmate, three house “aunties” and a health worker tested positive. On June 19, another seven male inmates and four staffers tested positive. A number of inmates are yet to be tested.
TOI contacted government officials about the situation in Asha Kiran several times, but there was no response.