Two COVID-19 patients from Kalasa taluk died before reaching hospital in Chikkamagaluru on Thursday.
A 40-year-old male, a resident of Kalasa, and another person aged about 65 from a village near Kalasa died in the ambulance they were travelling by, about 15 km from Kalasa. Their oxygen saturation level had come down and doctors at the Community Health Centre in Kalasa referred them to the COVID-19 hospital in Chikkamagaluru, about 90 km away. However, within minutes after they got into the ambulance, they died.
The residents of Kalasa have often urged the district administration to set up a COVID-19 hospital in Kalasa. The administration has made arrangements for oxygen beds in the hospital. However, it has not been operational so far. “There are hundreds of cases in Kalasa taluk. Patients whose condition deteriorates have to be taken to either Mudigere, which is about 60 km away, or Chikkamagaluru about 90 km away. The delay in setting up a COVID-19 hospital in Kalasa is contributing to deaths,” said Ravi, a resident of Kalasa.
Further, it is said that the ambulance by which the patients were taken had no oxygen facility. With no medical oxygen facility available on the way, the patients died, the residents said. The administration attributed the delay in setting up the hospital to vacant posts of specialists and technicians to handle the centre.
