A 53-year-old Kollam native allegedly committed suicide on Thursday in the Government Medical College Hospital here where he was undergoing quarantine after coming in close proximity with a COVID-19 patient. His swab test returned negative shortly after his death.
The incident is suspected to have occurred in the Corona isolation ward in the hospital during the early hours of the day. The deceased, who hailed from Vayala near Anchal, was admitted to the hospital on July 9 with serious injuries that he sustained after falling from a tree.
After undergoing surgery, he was recuperating in the hospital’s 18th ward where he stayed close to a patient who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Subsequently, he was shifted to a room in the isolation ward on Thursday. According to the Medical College police, the deceased spoke to his son at around 4 a.m on the phone. He was found hanging in the room by health workers around 6 a.m.
The incident comes a month after a COVID-19 patient and another person, who were admitted with symptoms, committed suicide in the isolation ward, sparking allegation of lapses on the part of the hospital authorities.
(Suicide prevention helpline: DISHA – 1056, 0471-2552056).
